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All K-12 schools in Alabama will close at the end of Wednesday, March 18, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday during a press conference in Montgomery. Schools could re-open on April 6, depending on the situation at that time.
The decision affects more than 720,000 students in 1,400 schools statewide.
“That gives parents three days extra to begin working on and thinking about child care,” Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said. “We didn’t want to do something that was too quick because we know parents need some time to make those decisions for their children.” Mackey said during the last week of March, the statewide task force will re-evaluate what’s happening at that time before re-opening schools.
Ten school districts were already closing Monday, March 16, for spring break.
All athletic events will be canceled during the period that schools are closed, Mackey said. The recommendation that school-related sporting events, field trips, and performances be postponed or canceled through the end of April stands, he said.
Alabama’s first case of COVID-19 was announced Friday morning. State Health Officer Scott Harris said the person is in Montgomery County and recently traveled out of state to an area where the coronavirus is present. During the Friday afternoon, press conference, Harris said a second case of COVID-19 was identified in Jefferson County. That person returned from an international trip, felt ill, and self-isolated, said Harris. Three more cases have been confirmed in the state, bringing the total to five.
Mackey said staff in schools where large numbers of students are in poverty are already working on distribution networks to provide meals to students that rely on schools for meals but couldn’t give a definite answer to when those networks would be up and running.
With the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency, school days missed will not have to be made up. Private schools are not impacted by the closing announcement.
Until today’s announcements, Alabama was one of only a handful of states with no confirmed cases of the coronavirus. There are more than 1,663 cases nationally with 40 deaths. Thirty-one of the deaths have occurred in Washington state.
Also on Friday, President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency,
Ivey said her declaration of a public health state of emergency gives her broad flexibility on responding to the virus. For example, she said she could order state employees not to come to work, but said there are no plans to do that, for now.
The governor said state officials are staying on top of the rapidly changing situation.
“Folks, let’s take a common sense approach and remember that calm and steady win the race," Ivey said.
Ten school districts were scheduled to begin spring break March 16. Ninety-two districts were scheduled to begin spring break March 23 with the remainder to begin over the following two weeks.
On-campus teaching at all 23 community colleges across Alabama has been moved to online teaching from March 17 to April 3. The system also canceled all events, according to a statement from the system, and colleges with dormitories will “continue to provide basic services” to students who cannot return home.
Many of Alabama’s 4-year colleges are moving to online classes, including Auburn University, the University of Alabama, Alabama A&M and Tuskegee University.
Nearly 22,000 schools have closed nationwide, impacting more than 15 million students.
Alabama joins 13 states and Washington, D.C., in closing schools statewide for multiple weeks.
- Ohio – March 16 to April 3
- Maryland – March 16 to March 27
- New Mexico – March 16 to April 6
- Michigan – March 16 to April 4
- Oregon – March 16 through March 31
- Washington, D.C. – closed March 17 through March 23, then distance learning March 24 through March 31
- Washington - closed through April 24
- West Virginia - closed until further notice
- Louisiana - closed March 16 through April 13
- Illinois - closed March 17 through March 29
- Florida - closed March 16 through March 27
- Virginia - closed March 16 through March 27
- Pennsylvania - closed March 16 for two weeks
- Kentucky - all districts closing March 16 or March 17 for two weeks
Live updates: Coronavirus COVID-19 in Alabama - What you need to know now
AL.com staff writer Mike Cason contributed to this report.