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Comment by DoreenMichele | Hacker News Reader

There may be many reasons to be reluctant to close schools.

Some kids get a lot of their food from school and go hungry when school is closed.

A lot of parents are dependent on school as de facto daycare and can't afford to pay for childcare when school isn't in session.

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This is a problem that the city already faces during every school vacation and for 2.5 months every summer. Surely there must already be some functioning solutions. (For example, many NYC schools serve breakfast and lunch to children under 18 throughout the summer. I'm not sure how the lack of childcare is handled during the summers.)

why would you need / how would you get

childcare when we're all quarantined at home?

If the parent isn't being ordered home yet by the government, state law says "Your child is too young to leave home alone while you work" and they shut the schools down under circumstances where you will find it nigh impossible to get daycare at all because the entire city is dealing with the same issues, this could get you fired (or charged with child neglect if you go to work and leave your child home alone).

Lots of people are amazingly callous, but some aren't. Some are reluctant to pull the trigger on a decision like that, knowing how many people will get caught in the crossfire and have their lives essentially ruined even if we magically come up with a cure for the virus tomorrow.

This is actual happening to a friend. She has a toddler daughter, and two elementary age children.

School is cancelled, but she is expected to come to the office on Monday.

She works for the school board as an administrator.

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