El Dorado County closing all school districts at least a week to fight coronavirus spread

All schools in El Dorado County will close for five days starting Monday in a coordinated attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus, according to an announcement by officials Saturday afternoon.

The El Dorado County District Superintendent of Schools and the El Dorado County Office of Education made the decision — which affects roughly 36,000 students across 15 districts — in collaboration with the El Dorado County Public Health Officer and school district superintendents across California.

The closures affect the following school districts: Black Oak Mine Unified, Buckeye Union Elementary, Camino Union Elementary, El Dorado Union High, Gold Oak Union Elementary, Gold Trail Union Elementary, Indian Diggings Elementary, Lake Tahoe Unified, Latrobe, Mother Lode Union Elementary, Pioneer Union, Placerville Union Elementary, Pollock Pines Elementary, Rescue Union Elementary and Silver Fork Elementary

The districts will reassess at the end of the week to decide whether an extension of school closures will be needed, officials said.

Health officials said no one in the county has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, but the El Dorado County Public Health Division said it expects to see cases soon.

“The safety and wellness of students, families, and school personnel are the highest priorities of all El Dorado County schools and districts,” read a statement from the districts.

“While we recognize this decision will pose challenges and hardship to many families in our county, the most effective way to slow and disrupt the transmission of this pandemic is by implementing social distancing practices,” read the statement. “During the time of the school closure, we are asking that students and families follow the County Public Health Officer’s directive to stay home and minimize social contact to the extent possible.”

The decision came one day after every public school district in Sacramento and Placer counties closed for up to three weeks starting Monday. The Sacramento County Office of Education and Placer County Office of Education both announced their decisions Friday afternoon. Yolo County schools followed suit on Friday night and Saturday morning.

More than 250,000 students in kindergarten through high school will be out of school in Sacramento County, and more than 80,000 students combined in Placer and Yolo counties will also be out of school.

The breaks will take some of the districts through their planned spring break.

This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 2:16 PM with the headline "El Dorado County closing all school districts at least a week to fight coronavirus spread."