All schools across Wash. state must close until late April due to COVID-19, Inslee announces

Updated at 1:50 p.m. Friday

Schools across Washington state must close beginning next week and remain closed until late April to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday.

The mandated closures apply to both public and private K-12 schools across that state. Inslee's order requires that schools close by Tuesday, March 17 and stay closed until Monday, April 27.

"It is unfortunate but it's true that this virus is going to spread to other counties and it is spreading very rapidly. We have concluded that a county by county approach to this epidemic is not sufficient. We need to get ahead of this waive and we need to do it today," Inslee said during a news conference Friday.

Inslee said there will also be no in-person learning at colleges and universities across the state during that time.

The move to close all schools across the state comes a day after Inslee announced all schools in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, the three counties that have seen the greatest number of COVID-19 cases. Inslee said Thursday this was not a decision "made lightly," but health professionals have said closing schools will help slow the transmission of the virus.

"We cannot hide from the central truth of this moment," Inslee said during the news conference Thursday, saying COVID-19 is far more dangerous than the flu. "Anything less than strong action amongst all of us is not appropriate or up to the task that we face at this moment as a state."

The closures across the state involve hundreds of school districts and 1.2 million students across the state. Washington state Superintendent Chris Reykdal said Thursday student attendance in in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties has gone down drastically in recent days. In King County, there was an 82% increase in student absences, he said, from 6.2% to 11.2%.

Inslee said with school closures, options for parents to telecommute becomes increasingly important. He added there are critical services schools provide that will need to continue, including nutrition and childcare.

"We have every reason to believe that we will be successful in this regard of providing services to these children in need," Inslee said. He said the state is in talks with organizations ready to help students impacted by the school closures, such as through distributing boxed lunches.

The governor said he's also asked for a plan to provide opportunities for "extended learning."

Reykdal said the school districts continue to think about how to prepare for the coming weeks, but he said every family who needs meals will have access to them. That includes families who weren't previously eligible for the free and reduced meal program who may now be in need of the service.

"We are prepared," he said. "We have been building for this moment very rapidly in the previous few days but theres going to need to be more work done."

He said they are working hard to "keep services available and to maximize the supports for families."

He added some of the days will likely be made up, but it will be impossible to make up all of the days students will lose.

Inslee noted it's important not to "sugarcoat" the situation. The closure of schools is going to be really hard for a lot of families, he said, as the state works to curb the spread of the virus.

Inslee on Wednesday said schools across the region should prepare contingency plans should they have to close. That includes districts putting into place measures to make sure students are still able to get access to meals -- a program many students rely on.

Several school districts in the region -- including Seattle Public Schools, which serves more than 50,000 students -- have already announced closures, but many districts said they would be closing for two weeks.

Officials had previously not recommended school closures, saying closures could cause community disruption and kids would likely gather elsewhere. But as the virus' spread has continued, officials say school closures will help to curb the spread to people who are more vulnerable.

The announcement comes as officials have been taking increasingly unprecedented steps in recent days to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Inslee on Wednesday also announced all gatherings of more than 250 people would be prohibited in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Since the announcement, concerts, sporting events, parades and other gatherings across the region and the country have been canceled or postponed. Local health officials announced events with fewer than 250 people would be prohibited in the area unless organizers could take specific steps to minimize the spread of the virus.

Employees at companies in the area who are able to work from home are being ask to do so.

So far in King County, there are 270 confirmed cases of the virus and more than 20 deaths.

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