All Virginia K-12 schools to close for at least 2 weeks amid coronavirus concerns

RICHMOND, Va. - Governor Ralph Northam is ordering all Virginia K-12 schools to close for a minimum of two weeks as the region - and the nation - come to grips with the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Some districts have already indicated that they will be closed for longer periods of time.

The Governor says schools will be closed from Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27.

“We are taking this action to keep Virginians as safe and healthy as possible, and to minimize exposure to COVID-19. I recognize this will pose a hardship on many families, but closing our schools for two weeks will not only give our staff time to clean and disinfect school facilities, it will help slow the spread of this virus. This is a fluid and fast-changing situation. We will do everything possible to ensure that students who rely on school nutrition programs continue to have access to meals, and that the disruption to academics is as minimal as possible,” Northam said.

This is a breaking news update - we'll have additional details as they become available.