PROVIDENCE -- Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, is asking state education commissioner Ang�lica M. Infante-Green to offer emergency permission for online instruction for public school students in the event the coronavirus becomes widespread.

“With the possibility that the coronavirus (CORVID-19) could disrupt school based learning, emergency remote learning approval may allow for the continuation of education for our students,” he wrote. “I believe it would also be helpful if the Rhode Island Department of Education could advise local school districts of best practices in remote learning and possible model programs.”

Questions and answers about the coronavirus disease.

Dr. Philip A. Chan, an infectious disease specialist and consultant medical director for the Department of Health, gave a comprehensive overview of coronavirus at a meeting with the committee this week.

“We have not seen confirmed cases in people without risk factors,” said Chan. “In the cases we’ve seen, they’ve either traveled to Italy or had contact with another case. The second we start seeing people without known risks, that elevates it up a notch and we have to have another discussion about everything.”

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