After careful deliberation, the Long Beach Unified School District has decided to close schools beginning Monday, March 16. School will resume Monday, April 20. The closure is an extra measure of protection to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. We do not have any presumptive or confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in our schools, but they are taking this step to help protect public health. This closure includes their Friday, April 10 Admission Day holiday and their spring recess from April 13 to 17.

Schools are an essential service and crucial to our communities. We are facing an unprecedented health crisis in our community, and new information is surfacing rapidly. It is likely our community will be seeing many more cases of COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months and this will require a measured, sustained response.

We are exploring with our local, regional and state partners what we can do to support our students and families during this difficult time. We will be setting up ways to continue the learning process, and to provide meals for our students who rely on them. We are considering what, if any, childcare options we can extend to families during this unplanned closure.

Students should stay home and minimize social contact as much as possible to keep caregivers and adult family members safe. Children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus. However, they can transmit the virus to those most vulnerable. Public health officials recommend that families make arrangements for childcare during closure that avoids leaving children with elderly people who are more vulnerable to the impact of the virus.

The School District as well as my office will be sharing more detailed information as soon as possible about how families can support student learning during school closures.

Additional information on the novel coronavirus is available at the LBUSD coronavirus web page at  lbschools.net.

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The City encourages all residents to visit  www.longbeach.gov/COVID19 for up-to-date facts on COVID-19, and to avoid misinformation. You can also follow updates, tips and notices on the City's social media pages @LongBeachCity and @LBHealthDept and by following hashtag #COVID19LongBeach.