COVID-19 and School Closures
To mitigate the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), US states enacted a suite of nonpharmaceutical interventions. School closures were among the most consistently applied of these interventions. Over a 10-day period in March, all 50 US states closed kindergarten-grade 12 schools and childcare centers; nearly all colleges and universities followed suit. These closures were unprecedented in scope, affecting 21 million children in childcare, 57 million students in kindergarten-grade 12, and 20 million college and university students.