Tens of thousands of students across Northern California missed school Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The all-girls high school Immaculate Conception Academy Cristo Rey in San Francisco is closed for two weeks after someone on the janitorial staff tested positive for the virus. The school is currently scheduled to reopen on Mar. 20.
Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco is closed Monday for deep cleaning after the parent of a student there tested positive for COVID-19. It is not clear if the school will reopen on Tuesday.
Lowell High School remains closed after a parent of a student there was confirmed to be ill with the virus. It is the only public school in the city to close so far as part of the outbreak, but the San Francisco Unified School District has cancelled all non-essential school activities through March 22, including assemblies, field trips and athletic or performing events including practices and rehearsals.
It is part of a city-wide ban on any non-essential gatherings of 50 people or more at city-owned facilities.
In San Jose, Oak Grove High School underwent a deep cleaning over the weekend after one of its students made contact with a family member who contracted coronavirus, but the school remains open.
Stanford University, meanwhile, has turned to a digital learning experience. Rather than attending lectures in classrooms, students there began participating through an online format.
By far. the biggest school closure in Northern California is the Elk Grove Unified School District outside Sacramento, which decided over the weekend to shutter all campuses for one week. A student in that district had contact with a family member with COVID-19. The district has more than 63,000 students.
The district also canceled activities including athletics and even one school’s prom over the weekend.
Parents reacted angrily to the last minute announcement at a meeting with city and district officials Sunday.
“Elk Grove Unified School District jumped the gun,” Neketia Henry told KOVR-13. “They spread unnecessary fear and that was unacceptable.”
Sacramento Mayor Daryl Sandberg says his office wants to increase transparency around these types of decisions. “I think what we want, to assure the public, is a bit more of a formal process so that people know exactly who’s going to be making the decision, and upon whose advice.”
The California Department of Public Health’s recommendation is to close schools only if a student or staff member tests positive for the virus, and only after consulting with local health officials.
Countless events around the Bay Area also have been canceled over fears of the coronavirus.
The San José Chamber Orchestra is canceling its March 29 performance due to the outbreak. Chamber Orchestra conductor Barbara Day Turner says they made their decisions after being informed by the guidelines distributed by the Santa Clara County Department of Health in the past few days. The orchestra's next scheduled program is May 17.
The city of Dublin said Monday it will cancel its annual St. Patrick's Day festivities. That includes a two-day holiday festival, parade, 5k Shamrock Fun Run and Walk and pancake breakfast. The festivities were originally scheduled for March 14-15. The two-day event draws about 80,000 people each year.