Coronavirus Empties Classrooms Across the World (PHOTOS)

Coronavirus

Across the globe, classrooms, lecture halls and campuses are now empty and educators are opting to teach classes virtually in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus.

ByEuna Park•March 13, 2020

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A classroom in an empty public school in the small Spanish Basque village of Labastida, around 45 kms (24,85 miles) from Vitoria, northern Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Spain's health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, and the same in the Spanish Basque city of Vitoria, will close for two weeks. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Across the globe, classrooms, lecture halls and campuses are now empty and educators are opting to teach classes virtually in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization announced that the virus has become a global pandemic.

Professors are recording lectures to be posted online. Students are calling into classes through their computers. Many schools in the U.S. opted to suspend classes completely until students return from their spring breaks. Classes will then resume online only.

Universities are also making changes to study abroad programs. Semester at Sea, an international cruise program affiliated with Colorado State University, experienced complications as they were denied permission to dock in the Seychelles by port and health authorities. Originally, the program was scheduled to travel to Cape Town, South Africa and the Canary Islands in Spain before disembarking in Amsterdam April 1. But the program will be cut short and end March 25 and students will complete the academic program online.

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When it comes to school closures, experts and studies show that reactive closures will not do much to mitigate the spread of disease in communities that coronavirus has already hit.. However, proactive closures, closing schools before a case arises, are proven to be an effective intervention, according to Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist and physician at Yale University.

Though school closures may provide peace of mind and be effective measures of halting further spreading of the coronavirus, many working parents with young children face new challenges with how to care for and manage their children’s learning and care. In addition, closures may even leave children hungry. About 780,000 students in New York rely on free or reduced-price lunch, according to Chalkbeat.

Click through the slideshow above to see how coronavirus has left schools empty across the country.

Across the globe, classrooms, lecture halls and campuses are now empty and educators are opting to teach classes virtually in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus.

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