Gov. Reynolds will be announcing today that Iowa's schools will be closed for 4 weeks after break.

[Frustratedlady]

The teachers will spend part if their break preparing for teaching online once spring break is over.

[Hortensis]

1. May be longer. I was reading yesterday that countries/regions

that closed schools before the first outbreak and also those that kept them closed for months until it was over had much better containment and death rates. Schools are a major factor.

Of course different regions, and perhaps seasonal patterns and other characteristics of the disease will have an effect. I've read that another coronavirus had been found to continue quietly spreading during a period of seasonal dip in cases. It's shocking how many very important things we don't know about this thing yet -- like can this one even spread on those surfaces we keep avoiding and wiping down?

One of our grandchildren's schools has already closed, the others about to close. I'm guessing about now many millions of parents are intensely grateful for video games. Our only-child grandson's mother is talking with a friend's parents about possibly "connecting" their quarantines as things get worse so the boys can continue to play together, an idea only being mused over for possibility right now.

We were told of a very elderly acquaintance raising a teen grandson whose doctor advised her to separate her home into two quarantine zones, apparently sat with her to figure out how that could be done so she could take a plan home to implement at once.

I'm very grateful I'm no longer raising children. Not so grateful they're far away, but at least their parents don't feel they have to add taking care of us also to their to-do lists.

[Frustratedlady]

5. My older friends are very concerned about being around their grandchildren and feel guilty about

being that way. However, with the younger generation not showing symptoms like we would, we don't know if they are carriers. This is certainly a strange virus and not one to second guess.

It's almost as though Mother Nature is readjusting the world's population with her own priorities.

This change to online teaching will probably be a good thing...another way to get by snow days without having to close down and have make-up days at the end of the school year. It is so disappointing to get that close to summer vacation only to need to attend a few more days to meet state requirements.

[uponit7771]

2. Distribute computers have online classes

[Hortensis]

4. Yes, and how wonderful that we have that capability.

Of course in some places people will send their kids out to work in the fields and do other chores as usual when they can't go to school. As long as they're appropriately engaged for as long as it takes.

[bullwinkle428]

3. This dope held a press conference Saturday night to announce they were NOT

closing the schools. Then changed her mind 24 hours later once the scope of this became apparent to even a dunderhead like her. Yes, I live in Iowa.

[Frustratedlady]

6. I hadn't heard that, but it doesn't surprise me at all.

Her "trainer" wouldn't have done much better.

Speaking of, does anyone hear anything from Branstad? I can't remember seeing anything since he went to China.