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Coronavirus and the resulting illness, COVID-19, have upended organizations nationwide, from health care and government facilities to commercial office and retail buildings. The result is that facility managers have had to determine how the illness will affect their facilities now and in the short- and long-term future.
The nation’s K-12 school districts have been at the center of many debates about whether and when to close in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Managers in many districts have made special accommodations to close schools to students and clean facilities thoroughly, while at the same time remaining available to provide needed services in their communities, according to Education Week.
An unprecedented number of schools have been ordered to shut down in the midst of fears surrounding the novel coronavirus. Schools have been grappling with big questions around interrupted learning, access to remote learning opportunities and the negative effects on students, especially those with disabilities or from low-income families.
Many school districts have set up meal services to provide aid to those families either through distribution sites or by bus route delivery. High school sports have either suspended their seasons or games have been played without fans, leaving many seniors in limbo during their final season.
Dan Hounsell is editor-in-chief of Facility Maintenance Decisions.
