Governor Newsom Says it's 'Unlikely' that Schools will Reopen Before Summer
The following article was originally published March 17, 2020, and republished through a collaboration with LAist and KPCC.
Story by Jessica P. Olgivie
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom offered some practical — if difficult — guidance for parents.
"Don't anticipate schools are going to open up in a week," he said. "Don't anticipate in a few weeks... I would plan and assume that it's unlikely that many of these schools — few, if any — will open before the summer break."
Under the banner of practicing common sense — the theme of Newsom's Tuesday briefing — the governor encouraged California residents to "absorb" the current moment in "a very rational way."
He urged all residents aged 65 and older to shelter in place, regardless of where they live. He encouraged all other Californians to be safe and stay indoors. He also predicted that the shelter-in-place dictum being enforced in the Bay Area will eventually make its way to other counties.
However, Newsom urged level-headedness. Shelter in place "doesn't mean within your own social set, within your own family, you can't have a barbeque," he said. "People you are used to being with, you should be with."
