MADISON - In an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus in Wisconsin, all public and private schools will shut down for two weeks.

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday directed the state Department of Health Services to mandate all K-12 schools to close starting Wednesday. Schools may be able to reopen on April 6.

The drastic measure has serious implications for unprepared school officials scrambling to make plans to continue instruction, and for families across the state — from parents without child care to low-income children who rely on schools for food and other social services.

“Closing our schools is not a decision I made lightly, but keeping our kids, our educators, our families and our communities safe is a top priority as we continue our work to respond to and prevent further spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin,” Evers said in a statement.

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Public health officials reported 11 cases of the new coronavirus in Wisconsin Friday, bringing the state’s total to 19 on a day when President Donald Trump declared a national emergency.

Global deaths due to COVID-19 passed 5,000 deaths on Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins University global case dashboard.

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Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, New Mexico and Oregon had already ordered all schools closed. Large metropolitan school districts in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Denver and others had also announced shutdowns.

The Osceola School District was the first in Wisconsin to close because of COVID-19 earlier this week, after someone with the virus attended a district event over the weekend. The small district near Wisconsin's border with Minnesota had reopened after facilities were cleaned and disinfected.

While school closures may make sense from a public health perspective, administrators must weigh many other factors, including the prospect of children being left alone if a parent cannot stay at home with them during the day. Some parents could lose their jobs if they stay home to care for their young children.

Some children may not have access to the internet and may not be able to complete online instruction, or they may have to go without the free and reduced lunch and breakfast they rely on Monday through Friday.

"Closing schools is not a no-brainer in an outbreak. It actually could be more harmful to the public's health than keeping them open, " said James Hodge Jr., a professor of public health law and ethics at Arizona State University who has extensively studied the ramifications states and local education and health officials face when responding to pandemics or other health emergencies.

In the wake of closures, parents wonder what's next

Some Wisconsin districts had already decided to close their doors and implement alternative instruction methods, including the Stevens Point Area School District, Shawano School District, Elmbrook School District and Merton Community School District.

Hours after Stevens Point made its announcement, Melissa Kane, a mother of four, sat in her red minivan waiting to pick up two of her children thinking of the challenge ahead in the next two weeks or more. All four of her children will have to use the district’s e-learning program for the first time, at the same time, for at least 10 days straight.

She said she'd have to keep her kids — grades 8, 9 10 and 12 — focused in a home environment, where there are more distractions and no class bells to structure the day.

Kane, a 48-year-old Plover resident, said she's fortunately able be at home because she’s on disability, and her and her kids can block out the day to make sure they get their online modules done.

Overall, she thinks she can handle the next couple weeks.

Unlike Kane, Amanda Stevenson is a mother of four boys — a third-grader, second-grader, kindergartner and a 4-year-old — who won’t have to complete e-learning modules, because they are younger.

She said one of her one son’s second grade teachers provided her with some online learning programs that should help her get her boys through the closure, but she's concerned that they'll go so long without receiving education.

Another challenge for Stevenson will be finding something to keep her sons occupied, with after-school activities canceled and many organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County, canceling or scaling back services amid outbreak concerns.

Stevenson, however, said that had the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to continued to increase, she would have kept her kids home from school voluntarily.

Not everyone thought closures were the right call.

Scott Bruesewitz, a 51-year-old Whiting resident said he worries about what people are going to do about child care and what that will do to people’s ability to work and feed their families. He said Stevens Point was responding to panic that’s been fueled by news media.

“I think it’s an overreaction,” Bruesewitz said.

Evers said the state will "continue working to do everything we can to ensure kids and families have the resources and support they need while schools are closed."

State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor said the Department of Public Instruction is "committed to offering our continuous support to students and educators."

“The safety and health of our students, educators, and families remain of the highest importance," Taylor said in a statement. "We know schools are thinking about the anticipated academic and economic impacts, and unintended impacts of these decisions, and are planning for ways to provide critical supports to kids and families, such as food insecurity.

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Contact reporter Samantha West at 920-996-7207 or swest@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BySamanthaWest.