The Coronavirus caused schools to close down as a safety precaution and has affected students, who receive free school lunches. 

According to ABC News, the Coronavirus has led lawmakers into creating an act that will help families feed their children at home if their schools get closed down. This new act is called the Families First Coronavirus Act and was given to the House as a new way of providing money for the low-income families, who are struggling to buy healthy food for their children.

Most of the colleges or universities, including Bakersfield College and California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) have been closed down as a safety precaution of the virus, but the high schools and elementary schools have not.

Erin Briscoe, the Public Information Officer at the Kern High School District, shared some information about what the district plans to do with the other schools in Bakersfield.

“In the event that the novel Coronavirus surfaces in Kern County, the Kern High School District will work closely with Kern County Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) to determine if it is necessary to call for school closures,” Briscoe said.

So far, Bakersfield does not have any Coronavirus cases, but if the virus makes its way to Kern County, then the rest of the schools will be closed down and students will be sent home.

“We will inform parents/guardians, students, and staff of any closures via local media, all-calls, and information on our webpage,” Briscoe said.

Schools getting closed down could affect the families of the students, who receive free and reduced lunches because parents can’t find other ways to feed their children. However, the district is not sure about how the students could be affected since the school has not been closed yet.

“The number of students who receive free lunches who would be affected by a potential school closure depends on the individual school site or sites,” Briscoe said.

The district does have a new plan to help students, who rely on free lunches in case of a future school closure in Kern County.

“We were alerted that the California Department of Education receives Special Federal Approval that enables districts to feed students during Coronavirus-related closure,” Briscoe said. “We are currently assessing our plans.”