The Wise School in Bel-Air, a Jewish early childhood school, is closing its campus Thursday after revealing a student’s parent is likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.
The private elementary school did not reveal the identity of the parent. It said that parent has not been on the campus in the past two weeks, and no member of the household was present at the Purim Carnival or subsequent events on campus.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health, in addition to advice we have received from medical experts, has not recommended that any other students or families at Wise School self-quarantine in response to this incident. The school said it would inform families if there was a need for anyone to self-quarantine in the future.
Other private schools, including The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica and Harvard-Westlake in Studio City are also closing their campuses over coronavirus concerns. Harvard-Westlake is also halting its sports program and said that one parent was being tested for the virus, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced Wednesday that all large student and staff gatherings have been canceled. All LAUSD schools are currently open, but student competitions and sporting events will continue without spectators. More than a dozen Southern California colleges, including UCLA and USC, have suspended on-campus classes.