Los Angeles Times - 07.03.2020

A8 LATIMES.COM

SEATTLE — The Uni-
versity of Washington an-
nounced Friday it was mov-
ing all instruction online for
the next two weeks, keeping
more than 50,000 students
out of classrooms as the
death toll from COVID-
continued to rise.
At least 16 public elemen-
tary and secondary schools
in the state have closed,
along with more than a doz-
en private ones, according to
state officials.
There were calls for more
grade-school closures in the
Seattle area, the U.S. epicen-
ter of the coronavirus out-
break, but health officials
warned that such a move
could backfire.
Keeping children out of
school could increase the
risk that they would infect
older people, who are far
more vulnerable to the virus,
said Patty Hayes, Seattle
and King County public
health director, at a news
conference Friday.
“When we close a school,
children have to go some-
where,” she said. “So if you
think about families, who
often are the caregivers, it
might be grandma, grandpa
and elderly members of the
family, the exact people that
we’re concerned about.”
Health officials con-
firmed three more deaths
Friday, raising the Washing-

ton state total to 14. An addi-

tional death reported by a

hospital there has yet to be

confirmed. The only other

confirmed death in the U.S.

occurred in Rocklin, Calif.

The number of confirmed

cases of COVID-19 in Wash-

ington is at least 83.

University of Washington

officials said Friday that a

staff member had received a

presumptive positive test

for COVID-19 and was stay-

ing home in quarantine.

The university’s presi-

dent, Ana Mari Cauce, said

in an email to faculty and

staff that finishing the win-

ter term online is a health

precaution that also “pro-

vides our facilities crews ad-

ditional time to deep clean

classrooms, auditoriums, li-

braries, restrooms and other

public spaces, as is their

standard practice.”

Soon after, Seattle Uni-

versity, with about 5,000 stu-

dents, announced it too was

canceling in-person classes

for the next two weeks.

But at the elementary

and high school level, the

equation is different, health

officials said.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, the Seat-

tle and King County public

health officer, said Wednes-

day that officials learned the

disadvantages of closing

schools during the H1N

swine flu pandemic a decade

ago. “We closed schools dur-

ing H1N1 and we saw

tremendous community dis-

ruption,” he said.

During that outbreak in

2009-10, officials found that

keeping children out of

school meant that many

parents, including health

workers needed to care for

patients, had to stay home,

he said.

It’s unclear what role chil-

dren might play in transmit-

ting the new coronavirus.

Experts said it is now clear

that their rate of serious ill-

ness is far lower than it is for

adults.

“If this disease was very

harmful to children, we

would be closing schools at a

much lower threshold,”

Duchin said.

School closures “remain

in the toolkit,” however, he

said. “We’re going to reas-

sess every day, really, and

adjust our strategies as nec-

essary” in close consultation

with the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, he

said.

“We know we can’t close

schools forever, so we have to

think what’s the right tim-

ing, what’s the right dura-

tion, and do we really want to

close schools or do we want

to keep schools open so fac-

ulty can continue to come in

and maybe serve children

who have special needs, get

school food there, operate in

some modified fashion?”

School administrators

have been weighing the op-

tions. Rob Phillips, who

heads Seattle Academy, a

private middle and high

school in Seattle with about

940 students, wrote in a let-

ter to parents that the

school would close for six

weeks, given that he believes

it would be forced to shut at

some point.

“I don’t see the benefit in

waiting until that happens,

and then reacting,” he wrote.

“There comes a point where

the best way to deal with the

mounting variables is to be-

gin to take control of the sit-

uation when and where we

can.”

Randy Matheson, a

spokesman for the Renton

School District southeast of

Seattle, said that guidance

from health officials kept

changing.

On Monday, the district

closed Hazen High School

after learning that the

mother of a student had

tested positive for the virus.

The school, which has 1,

students, had been disin-

fected over the weekend.

But results weren’t yet

available from a coronavirus

test on the student, who has

not come to school in more

than a week.

“On Tuesday we opened

it back up, because we wer-

en’t given any guidance of

what we should do with the

schools,” Matheson said.

Later Tuesday, however,

the test result came back as

positive. At 11 p.m. that day,

he said, “the health depart-

ment finally tagged in on this

work and decided along with

the CDC that we should

close the school, as they de-

cided what other students

and staff needed to be

tested, if any.”

But on Thursday after-

noon, health officials told

Hazen High administrators

that “it’s not a good idea to

close schools,” Matheson

said.

Because the school was

already closed, administra-

tors decided to keep it shut

through Friday.

“It leaves us and our fam-

ilies and communities a bit

confused, worried and also

in need of a little more direc-

tion,” Matheson said.

Now parents are circulat-

ing an online petition calling

for Renton schools to be

closed.

Will closing schools help contain virus?

UNIVERSITYof Washington students depart after officials canceled in-person

instruction for two weeks in response to the region’s coronavirus outbreak.

Steve RingmanSeattle Times

Several in the Seattle

area have shut, but

health officials warn

that could backfire.

By Richard Read

down by half.”

Up on the Spanish Steps,

a policeman had finally

found use for his whistle

when he spotted Thomas

Warwick, a visitor from

ROME — A few years

ago, police officers at the

Trevi Fountain in Rome

were given whistles to blow

on when unruly mobs of

tourists dangled their feet in

the water or even attempted

a quick dip.

But on Thursday, Rome’s

battle against the growing

invasion of low-cost airlines

and Airbnb users felt like an-

cient history, as a police-

woman gazed wistfully at

the measly crowd milling

around the Baroque land-

mark, her whistle hanging

unused around her neck.

“My job just got a lot eas-

ier, but as a Roman I am

pretty sad,” said the officer,

who would not give her

name.

Welcome to the Eternal

City in the era of the co-

ronavirus, as tourists vanish

from the streets and locals

watch nervously as the virus

creeps south toward the

Italian capital from the clus-

ters where it first appeared

in northern Italy two weeks

ago.

Since then, with experts

scrambling to figure out how

it got there from Wuhan,

China, the virus has ex-

ploded in Italy faster than

anywhere else outside Asia

— with the death toll reach-

ing more than 195 on Friday

and total cases leaping

above 4,600.

At first, 11 towns were

quarantined in the northern

regions of Lombardy and

Veneto while schools were

closed throughout the areas,

but when that didn’t stop

the virus from heading

south, schools were closed

nationwide Thursday for 10

days and the government or-

dered Italians to stop kis-

sing and hugging.

With airlines halting

flights into Italy, a local busi-

ness group estimated that

more than 10 million tourists

will cancel plans to visit Italy

in the next three months — a

potential disaster for a coun-

try that derives 13% of its

gross domestic product

from tourism.

Signs it is already hap-

pening were clear on the

street running from the

Trevi Fountain to the Span-

ish Steps, which are usually

clogged with sightseeing

tourists.

Standing alone, an idle

taxi driver was counting his

losses.

“Business is 70% down

and the country is grinding

to a halt,” he said. “My ques-

tion is, how will we ever get it

started again?”

Farther along, closer to

Bernini’s boat-shaped foun-

tain at the foot of the sweep-

ing steps, Sara Bonavita was

searching the street for cus-

tomers from the front door

of her leather goods shop.

“First the Chinese

stopped coming because of

the scare over there,” she

said. “Now no one is coming

here because of the scare

over here, and our income is

Britain, breaking Rome’s

decorum rules by sitting

on a step.

Getting up, Warwick ex-

plained he was enjoying the

empty streets.

“We’ve got the virus in

Britain, so what’s the differ-

ence?” he said. “Last time I

was here you couldn’t move

on these steps, and now

there’s no one.”

The one crowd to be

found in Rome was outside

the Scuderie del Quirinale, a

former papal stables that

now hosts exhibitions and

which unveiled Thursday a

blockbuster exhibition of

works by Raphael to com-

memorate the 500th anni-

versary of the Renaissance

artist’s death.

After borrowing works

from around the world and

receiving 76,000 ticket reser-

vations, the exhibition had

the massive misfortune to

open on the same day the

government banned all pub-

lic gatherings in Italy, with

the exception of those at

which people could stand

one yard away from one an-

other.

“We have 25 staff inside

and outside ensuring people

keep their distance,” said

museum manager Mario De

Simoni as he watched ush-

ers advise people lining up

by entrance to space them-

selves out.

“Italians can be quite in-

dependent when it comes to

queuing, but it’s working,”

he said.

De Simoni said his staff

had calculated the floor area

of the rooms in the museum

and decided they could let in

800 people at a time.

“But to be safe we are do-

ing 300,” he said.

There was no question of

delaying the show, he added.

“Many of the works are on

loan or delicate and we can-

not wait,” he said.

The line was not huge,

but De Simoni was pleased.

“Airports, restaurants

and trains are empty, but

here there is a crowd be-

cause culture has a different

drawing power,” he said.

Standing in line, Felice

Egisto, a 61-year-old doctor,

said he was determined to

see the show.

“I am taking care, but you

have to live,” he said.

Standing beside him,

his wife, Maria Rosaria

Bresciani, nodded in

agreement.

“The virus will pass. Here

today, we can see things

which are beautiful and eter-

nal,” she said.

Kington is a special

correspondent.

Rome’s tourist hot spots go cold amid outbreak in Italy

By Tom Kington

A TOURISTwears a mask last week outside the Colosseum in Rome. The new coronavirus has spread in Italy

faster than anywhere else outside Asia — with more than 4,600 total cases and about 200 deaths as of Friday.

Andrease SolaroAFP/Getty Images

THE CROWDof visitors gathered Thursday at the Basilica of the Pantheon was sparse. A business group

estimated that more than 10 million tourists will cancel plans to travel to Italy in the next three months.

Simona GranatiCorbis/Getty Images

‘Business is 70%

down and the

country is

grinding to a halt.

My question is,

how will we ever

get it started

again?’

— taxi driver in

Rome