The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is prepping parents for the imminent spread of the deadly coronavirus. In fact, they are urging parents to explore the possibility of school closures and even’ tele-schooling.’
The CDC said Americans might need to prepare for ‘tele-schooling,’ which could consist of students doing online studies or being taught via video calls, in the event that the virus continues to spread throughout the country.
The CDC’s director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Nancy Messonier, says that the public needs to be prepared if the virus becomes a pandemic.
“It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen. We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.” Messonier urged reporters in a media call on Tuesday.
Dr. Messonier is so concerned that she suggested that parents call their children’s schools and ask if there are plans for children to attend class over the Internet or via video chat should the buildings need to close. In fact, she revealed that she had taken steps to prepare her own family, saying that she has already spoken to her own children’s school to inquire about plans to handle closures due to the virus outbreak.
“Parents should ask schools, are there plans for teleschool? You should think what you would do for daycare if schools close?” Messonier suggested.
As it stands in the United States, 57 cases have been confirmed – 14 in the nation and 40 from citizens repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and three evacuated from China.
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More than 80,000 people have been infected worldwide, with over 2,700 people dying thus far, according to reports.
Despite the spread, other health officials are that the virus has not affected children the way that it has affected adults.
“The literature is only reporting about 100 or so pediatric cases,” Dr. Terri Lynn Stillwell, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan, reported to NPR.
