Loudoun County Public Schools closed through March 20 due to coronavirus concerns

ASHBURN, Va. - Loudoun County Public Schools announced that schools will be closed beginning Thursday, March 12 through Friday, March 20 due to coronavirus concerns.

“I sincerely apologize for sending you a message regarding school closure with minimal time to make adjustments; however, given the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, Loudoun County Public Schools are closed today, Thursday, March 12th through Friday, March 20th,” said a statement from Superintendent Eric Williams posted online Thursday. “All activities are also cancelled at this time. Administrative Offices will open at twelve today with regular office hours on other days during the school closure.”

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"As you may know, the World Health Organization declared the novel Coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic yesterday, travel between the United States and Europe was recently suspended, and some events and large gatherings have been postponed or cancelled in our region, state, and nation," Williams' message continued. "Loudoun County has experienced at least one presumptive positive case of COVID-19. While Loudoun County has not experienced the extent of presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 as some other areas within our nation or globally and has not had cases that meet the definition of community transmission, we are making this decision out of an abundance of caution. We plan to announce next steps by the end of next week."

Williams said officials were unaware of any presumptive positive cases of individuals connected to schools. He said schools would be thoroughly cleaned before they reopen.

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