Pleasanton Schools Now Closing March 16 Due To Coronavirus

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton Unified School District schools will close on Monday, March 16, Superintendent David Haglund said Saturday — one day earlier than previously announced.

The district had previously planned to close Tuesday. But following the city's decision Friday to close public facilities, the district moved up its planned closure.

School and district offices will be open this week, but the public is discouraged from visiting in person, Haglund said.

Teachers will be trained this week on remote instruction, and some learning resources for students will be posted to the PUSD website by Monday, Haglund said. Schools will tell parents by Wednesday if there are materials necessary to have at home.

The district also plans to continue remote learning through April 14, "unless and until otherwise notified by the Alameda County Public Health Department," Haglund said.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close schools at a special meeting Friday. The period covers spring break for PUSD schools.

Earlier this week, the district said devices will be available for students to check out March 17 at the PUSD office (4665 Bernal Ave.). Instruction will begin March 23 with independent learning assignments.

Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots can be requested here.

The Pleasanton Unified School District did not immediately return requests for comment.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here on the CDC website.

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