Wong Karen K, Shi Jianrong, Gao Hongjiang, Zheteyeva Yenlik A, Lane Kimberly, Copeland Daphne, Hendricks Jennifer, McMurray LaFrancis, Sliger Kellye, Rainey Jeanette J, Uzicanin Amra
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Chenega Government Consulting, Chesapeake, Virginia, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 Dec 2;9(12):e113755. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113755. eCollection 2014.
We describe characteristics of unplanned school closures (USCs) in the United States over two consecutive academic years during a non-pandemic period to provide context for implementation of school closures during a pandemic.
From August 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013, daily systematic internet searches were conducted for publicly announced USCs lasting ≥ 1 day. The reason for closure and the closure dates were recorded. Information on school characteristics was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics.
During the two-year study period, 20,723 USCs were identified affecting 27,066,426 students. Common causes of closure included weather (79%), natural disasters (14%), and problems with school buildings or utilities (4%). Only 771 (4%) USCs lasted ≥ 4 school days. Illness was the cause of 212 (1%) USCs; of these, 126 (59%) were related to respiratory illnesses and showed seasonal variation with peaks in February 2012 and January 2013.
USCs are common events resulting in missed school days for millions of students. Illness causes few USCs compared with weather and natural disasters. Few communities have experience with prolonged closures for illness.
我们描述了在非疫情期间美国连续两个学年内计划外学校关闭（USC）的特征，以便为疫情期间实施学校关闭提供背景信息。
从2011年8月1日至2013年6月30日，每天对公开宣布的持续≥1天的USC进行系统的互联网搜索。记录关闭原因和关闭日期。学校特征信息从国家教育统计中心获取。
在为期两年的研究期间，共识别出20,723起USC，影响了27,066,426名学生。关闭的常见原因包括天气（79%）、自然灾害（14%）以及学校建筑或公用设施问题（4%）。只有771起（4%）USC持续≥4个教学日。疾病是212起（1%）USC的原因；其中，126起（59%）与呼吸道疾病有关，呈现季节性变化，在2012年2月和2013年1月达到高峰。
USC是常见事件，导致数百万学生缺课。与天气和自然灾害相比，疾病导致的USC较少。很少有社区经历过因疾病而长期关闭学校的情况。
