President Donald Trump’s European travel ban. 

Professional sports seasons.

March Madness.

The stock market. 

Broadway.

Disneyland.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

The coronavirus pandemic has spread throughout the United States, exceeding 1,200 cases as of Wednesday, according to The New York Times. 

And finally, the Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco closed all school districts Thursday night, as reported by The Bergen Record. It’s about time.

The Pascack Valley administration had taken measures of its own, including cancelling the all school trips, the Valley Cup pep rally, and PV Theatre’s musical, “1776,” but that’s not good enough. 

The Bergen County Technical Schools and Special Services School District were a step ahead, already closing its schools Wednesday until March 20, along with many New Jersey colleges continuing their studies online. 

PV is now on the same page and will be implementing virtual days like in the past on Feb. 12 of 2014 during a snowstorm and Feb. 2 and 3 of 2016 as a break during the halfway point of the school year. Those days were experiments and did not count as actual school days, but this time around, the state announced that virtual days will count.

During my first virtual day as a sophomore, teachers pounded me with assignments — even more than an ordinary school day — and it took me more time to finish homework.

This time around, PV re-evaluated its plan with students having the option to video conference with teachers if they have questions during the class period and have between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to complete assignments. Teachers now need to ensure that students are learning new material and not given busy work, especially considering AP exams are approaching and face-to-face instruction will be lost.

Despite this unfortunate situation, it is important to keep in mind that school closures, including PV, is the safest solution to stop the spread of this disease. We’re all in this together.