Most governors in the United States have ordered or recommended that statewide school closures continue for the rest of the academic year to help reduce the spread of the CCP virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from China last year.
Several states have announced their plans to begin lifting social distancing measures and the federal government has issued guidelines to reopen the country in phases, but it doesn’t appear that students will return to the classroom this spring.
Officials in 47 U.S. states, as well as Washington, have ordered or recommended school closures for the rest of the school year, according to a CNN tally. Schools in all five U.S. territories—American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands—also are closed for the remainder of the school year.
States with mandatory or recommended closures include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington state, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The CNN Wire and NTD staff contributed to this report
