The COVD-19 outbreak has already temporarily closed schools in states including Ohio, Maryland, ... [+] Michigan, Virginia, Oregon and New Mexico. A 2007 study, “Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic”, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (“JAMA”) sheds a lot of light on this issue. It looks at the impact that “nonpharmaceutical interventions”, specifically school closures, had on stemming the influenza pandemic. However, the study found that cities that closed schools earlier and kept them shut longer had better results in containing the spread of influenza. And it suggests that schools may have to remain closed for some time.

Source: Forbes March 15, 2020 22:52 UTC