Los Angeles Unified School District’s superintendent, Austin Beutner, has made a statement to close down in-class teaching for two weeks starting today, March 16th, to help prevent students and staff from catching the fast-spreading disease, coronavirus. In a video posted on LAUSD’s website, Austin Beutner said, “We are now at a point where the balance is shifted and the appropriate path is to close schools. We are taking this step to keep our school communities safe.” This is a big decision as half a million students make LAUSD the second biggest school district in the United States, according to Census.gov. 

You can find Austin Beutner’s full statement here: https://achieve.lausd.net/latestnews

Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus), all sports games will be canceled until further notice. This includes Boys Volleyball, Swim, Baseball, and Softball. According to https://www.cif-la.org/apps/news/article/1181166, “athletic events in the CIF LA City Section will continue to be held at the discretion of the Los Angeles Unified School District, charter organizations, and member schools...the 10 CIF Section Commissioners will be meeting Tuesday, March 17, to discuss the possible impact of COVID-19 on [the] upcoming spring season.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) program shared some tips on a Public Service Announcement, contributed by Google,

 “Do the 5: Help stop coronavirus”

1. HANDS: Wash them often 
2. ELBOW: Cough into it
3. FACE: Don’t touch it
4. FEET: Stay more than 3ft apart
5. FEEL: Sick? Stay home

More tips to prevent the COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be found on the (WHO) website: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

For more general information regarding LAUSD schools shutdown: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-13/los-angeles-schools-closure-possible-cornavirus.