Schools closing as precautionary measure for COVID-19

Following Gov. Kim Reynolds' recommendation all Iowa schools close for at least four weeks, most schools in the Union's coverage area have followed suit.

The Washington Community School District has announced it will close schools and cancel all extra curricular activities until further notice. Parents and students who need to pick up personal items from the school can do so by calling the child's school building on Tuesday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. School personnel will be present from 12-4 p.m. to gather materials for pickup, according to a statement from the district.

The items will be brought to the vehicle. After Tuesday, families will be unable to retrieve personal items, the release states.

On Tuesday and Thursday this week, lunch will be provided at Stewart, Lincoln and the Brighton bus stop, according to the district. Two lunches per student will be provided between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. All participants are asked to remain in their vehicles and wait for the lunch to be delivered to them.

The food pantries in the district are still being discussed but will be open on Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The district asks anyone who wishes to retrieve items to call the school before to arrange a time for pickup.

Mid-Prairie Community School District is currently on spring break and Keota Community School District has announced no class for Monday, March 16. Hillcrest Academy has suspended classes for the week including all extracurricular activities. The Columbus Community School District has announced no activities, practices or open gyms will take place Monday. More info is expected to follow from each district.

On Monday, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District announced an emergency school closure for the next four weeks which includes closure of a ll programming before and after school as well as athletics and extracurricular activities.

The New London Community School District will continue to have school but has put restrictions on visitors entering the school building. The school lunch salad bar will no longer be available for students to choose from and lunch will be served by staff only, according to a statement on the school's website. Students in the WACO Community School District are on spring break. Winfield-Mt. Union took a planned day off Monday but according to a statement on the school's website, classes will resume as normal.

'We continue to encourage frequent hand washing/sanitizers, our staff is working together to keep commonly-used surfaces clean, bus drivers are using sanitizer on seats and other surfaces, and of course we're stressing the importance of following procedures on when to stay home (presence of fever, vomiting, etc. within last 24 hours),” said superintendent Jeff Mader in a statement.

The Fairfield Community School District has canceled all classes until April 13, according to a statement on the schools website. School breakfasts and lunches are expected to be delivered and details are being worked on currently.

Buildings and busses will be disinfected, staff will be aloud to retrieve supplies from classes and students will be allowed into the building at a future time, according to the district.

Both the Pekin and Cardinal School Districts have canceled for the next four weeks and the Van Buren Community School District canceled school Monday. According to the district website, more information would be forthcoming.