LA Catholic Schools Close Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

LOS ANGELES, CA — Catholic Schools from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara will shut down as a precaution against the coronavirus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced Friday. Instead, schools will offer "remote learning" instead.

The announcement came just hours after Los Angeles Unified and other Southland school districts closed their campuses, affecting millions of school children and parents. For days, schools have been canceling assemblies, sporting events and activities that draw crowds. On Thursday, the governor announced a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people.

The Catholic school campuses will close Tuesday, with the closure expected to last until at least March 31.

"Our Catholic schools are an essential element of the church's mission here in Los Angeles, and we serve nearly 75,000 students, including large numbers from low-income and immigrant communities," Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement. "Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, we have been consulting with government and public health officials and working with our pastors, principals and school administrators to find the best ways to reduce the risk of infection.

"While we do not have any known cases to date, we believe that temporarily closing our schools and moving to distance-learning will help protect the public health and keep our families and neighbors safe from harm," he said.

According to the archdiocese, its Department of Catholic School will work with individual principals to ensure schools are "prepared to maintain learning during the closure by providing resources for online and distance learning."

City news Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.