New Guidance For Schools In Washington State

SEATTLE (AP) – Gov. Jay Inslee says schools in the majority of Washington’s counties should strongly consider online-only learning for students this fall due to COVID-19 and canceling or postponing sports and all other in-person extracurricular activities.

Inslee made the announcement Wednesday with the superintendent of public instruction for Washington and the state’s health officer.

Authorities say the virus is still spreading too extensively in the state, which saw the nation’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 in late January.

Since then Washington has seen more than 59,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 1,600 deaths.

Washington officials broke down their school recommendations into categories for counties deemed high risk, moderate risk and low risk.