Thursday coronavirus school closures in Puget Sound region
Mar 5, 2020, 5:33 AM | Updated: 10:34 am
(KIRO 7)
Thursday will see a handful of school closures related to the coronavirus.
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That includes the Northshore School District, which announced that it will be closed Thursday and for up to 14 days, after a Woodmoor Elementary School parent volunteer tested presumptive positive for the virus.
The district said it’ll monitor the situation and health department recommendations. Parents can expect plans to transition instruction to remote learning starting Monday. The closure affects 33 schools and over 23,000 students. Staff members trained Tuesdays for remote learning.
Also closed Thursday is the Monroe School District, although there are no known cases in the district. The day will be used to clean buildings and buses. Further updates for Friday will be provided later.
Hazen High School remains closed, opting to shut down for the remainder of the week to investigate if anybody came into contact with an ill student. All other Renton schools remain open on regular schedules.
Read more about all of the cases in Washington state
Eastside Preparatory in Kirkland has decided it doesn’t want to take any risks, shutting its doors through the rest of March and having its students attend class remotely.
Meanwhile, an online petition to close schools in the Lake Washington School District has drawn over 15,000 signatures. The district has many schools in Kirkland, the same location of the Life Care Center, believed to be ground zero for the virus.
There are 29 elementary schools within the district, eight middle schools, and four high schools. The district says custodial staff is cleaning daily “high frequency touch points” on campuses and on buses. Kirkland SDA/Puget Sound Adventist is closed for the remainder of the week for cleaning.
A petition in Bellevue has drawn 10K signatures, another 4,800 in Issaquah, and 4,600 in Edmonds.