Coronavirus Closings: Schools, Colleges, Nursing Homes and More

The outbreak has most severely affected nursing home patients and older Americans, but college campuses and high schools have announced some cases, and the rapid spread of infections has encouraged schools of all kinds to take extraordinary measures.

The Fulton County school system, which covers the suburbs of Atlanta, did not hold school on Tuesday, becoming the largest U.S. school district to do so, after an employee tested positive.

In the Seattle area, which is experiencing a severe outbreak, a suburban K-12 school district was the first in the area to move all of its classes online. The setup meant that students as young as second grade were working on card tables in their bedrooms, and parents were folding laundry while keeping one eye on virtual classes.

But colleges seemed to be leading the way in the national experiment with remote learning, with many schools set to start virtual instruction after spring break, lasting at least through the end of March. That raised a number of questions — from housing and finances to international visas, and even meals for low-income students who rely on them.

There were also practical classroom matters.

Courtney Silver-Peavey, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student, teaches biological science classes at Ohio University, which announced on Tuesday that all in-person classes would be suspended. “A lab — you can’t do that online. You can’t dissect a brain or conduct an evolutionary experiment,” she said. “As students and staff, it puts us in a weird situation.”

The decision also came as a surprise to Sierra Hicks, 23, a graduate student at Syracuse, who had received an email earlier Tuesday saying classes would continue as normal. Hours later, the university announced it had decided to move to online learning starting after spring break.

Ms. Hicks, who is from Severna Park, Md., said she was quickly making plans to move home after spring break and grappling with several questions, including the potential loss of pay from her job on campus.