April 3, 2020

As the world continues to struggle with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most schools and universities around the globe have closed in an effort to help stop the spread of the deadly disease. In the United States—where there are more COVID-19 cases (more than 245,000) than in any other country—school closures began in March 2020. Schools began to close in March or earlier in other countries as well, as COVID-19 quickly spread from where it was first detected, in China, in December 2019. COVID-19 is a pneumonia-like disease caused by a coronavirus, a type of virus that also causes the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 54,000 people among more than 1 million confirmed cases.

On March 22, 2020, a school in Carlsbad, California, optimistically awaited the return of students in mid-April. Credit: © Shutterstock

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 188 countries have closed schools locally or nationwide, leaving more than 1.5 billion people—nearly 90 percent of the world’s student population—out of classrooms. The closures have also affected more than 60 million teachers, many of whom continue to instruct through online classes or other forms of distance and remote learning.

In 2009, a contagious disease known as the swine flue forced school closings in several countries. In this photograph, children wear protective masks as they return to classes in Mexico City on May 11, 2009. The Mexican government had closed schools in April to help stop the spread of the disease. Credit: © Jorge Dan, Reuters

Public schools are closed throughout the United States, but many states are hoping to bring students back to classrooms by the end of April. All timelines, however, depend on the containment or continued spread of COVID-19. Such states as Alabama, Oklahoma, and Virginia have cancelled classes until the start of the fall 2020 semester, and many other states may soon have to follow suit. As a result of the class disruptions, most standardized testing will not take place this spring, and the April ACT and May SAT college entrance examinations were both cancelled.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

School closures are part of social distancing, also known as physical distancing, an effort to slow or stop the spread of a contagious disease by limiting contact between people. Social distancing is most effective against illnesses that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing, direct or indirect physical contact, or through the air. Typical social distancing measures call for the closing of such public places as schools, restaurants, museums, and many offices and stores. They may also call for people to maintain a distance of around 6 feet (2 meters) between them in public places.

March 27, 2020

As the world struggles to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a practice called social distancing is being implemented to slow the spread of the disease. Social distancing describes the effort to limit direct human contact and increase the physical space between people to avoid spreading a contagious disease. Social distancing is most effective against illnesses that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing, direct or indirect physical contact, or through the air. COVID-19 is a coronavirus that causes a pneumonia-like disease. Coronaviruses are types of viruses that cause the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system.

On March 20, 2020, train passengers wearing protective masks sit in designated areas to ensure social distancing in Palembang, the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. Credit: ABDUL QODIR/AFP via Getty Images

Social distancing requires the limiting of non-essential travel and large group gatherings. Authorities have suggested keeping a distance of 6 feet (roughly 2 meters) from other people in public. Social distancing also calls for the closing of such public gathering places as schools, restaurants, museums, and many offices and stores. A widespread policy of social distancing to counteract COVID-19 began in many places the second week of March 2020.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Another aspect of the social distancing strategy requires that people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease isolate themselves, or self-quarantine. People in quarantine for COVID-19 must first follow the standard hygiene rule of washing their hands frequently. But they must also refrain from sharing towels or eating utensils, they must remain at home, they should not have visitors (except as needed to receive care), and they should follow the 6-feet (2-meter) distance rule with family members. Self-quarantine lasts for a period of at least two weeks. That amount of time allows people to know whether or not they have the coronavirus and if they are contagious to other people. After the period of self-quarantine, if the person does not show symptoms of COVID-19, they can return to their normal routine. For those that do have the coronavirus, they must then continue a longer period of isolation at home or in a hospital or other health care facility.

Social distancing can help flatten the curve, an expression that describes curbing of the rate at which people become infected by COVID-19. On a line graph, a sudden surge in cases of illness over a short time appears as a tall, narrow curve. On a similar graph, the same number of cases dispersed over a longer period of time appears as a longer, flatter curve. Ideally, social distancing will flatten the curve by slowing the numbers of people infected by COVID-19. Flattening the curve helps to avoid having more sick people than can be treated effectively at any one time.

COVID-19 is the name of a respiratory disease that was first recognized in human beings in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The disease was given the temporary name 2019-nCoV, for novel (new) coronavirus of 2019. It was later officially named COVID-19. The virus that causes the disease was named SARS-CoV-2. Its symptoms include breathing difficulties, coughing, and fever. On March 11, 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic—that is, a disease that has spread over an extremely wide geographic area. By mid-March, the virus had caused more than 8,200 deaths, and more than 200,000 cases had been confirmed worldwide. More than 150 countries have reported cases of COVID-19.

February 24, 2020

Last week, on February 19, the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic claimed its 2,000th victim. First recognized in human beings in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, the coronavirus has since spread steadily and touched nearly all parts of the world. Wuhan coronavirus is an informal name for a respiratory disease named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Coronaviruses are one of many virus types that cause the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system. The COVID-19 is a pneumonia-like disease. Its symptoms include breathing difficulties, coughing, and fever. It is a contagious disease, and the symptoms can be fatal in a small percentage of cases.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

On Jan. 30, 2020, when the disease had caused 170 deaths in some 8,000 confirmed cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO recommended urgent containment measures as the number of cases and deaths continued to climb. By mid-February, more than 40,000 cases of the virus had been confirmed. The disease was given the temporary name 2019-nCoV, for novel (new) coronavirus of 2019. It was later officially named COVID-19. The virus that causes the disease was named SARS-CoV-2.