Nearly 300 million worldwide will miss school over the coming weeks as governments shut down schools in a bid to contain the Chinese coronavirus after health authorities urged an all-out offensive against the global epidemic.

The number of coronavirus cases is fast approaching 100,000 across 80 different countries, although the majority of those are in China. More than 3,200 people have already died from the virus.

Although school closures are a common occurrence around the world in response to various events such as extreme weather conditions, power outages, and illness contagion, they normally do not last longer than one week.

Yet amid the current coronavirus outbreak, UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay warned the “global scale and speed of the current educational disruption is unparalleled and, if prolonged, could threaten the right to education.”

On Wednesday, education authorities in Italy ordered the closure of all schools nationwide until at least March 15th as the death toll reached 107, making it the deadliest outbreak outside of China. A further 120 schools across France were also closed this week in the areas most affected by the virus.

Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte confirmed that health officials were currently managing the outbreak through tough measures such as the quarantine of 11 towns with 50,000 people and a ban on fan attendance at sporting events, while also advising people against any unnecessary physical contact.

“In the case of exponential growth, not just Italy but any other country in the world would not be able to manage the situation,” said Conte.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced last week that all classes would be canceled through March and the country’s spring break, while South Korea has postponed the start of the upcoming term till March 23rd.

At least 92 people have died in Iran, where authorities have extended the closure of school and universities as well as major cultural, religious and sporting events, while the government of Saudi Arabia has also suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage, an unprecedented move that has led to concerns about the cancelation of the annual Hajj.

The head of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva warned that the epidemic posed a “serious threat” to global economic growth and that it would fall below last year’s 2.9 percent. “At a time of uncertainty … it is better to do more than to do not enough,” she said. “[This epidemic] is a global problem calling for a global response.”

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