UPDATE: Less than 24 hours after announcing schools would remain open, the City of Worcester declared that schools would be closed on Friday, March 13.

Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus said all schools are closed Friday and three people from two public schools are being tested because of possible exposure to coronavirus. 

The City is opening its Emergency Operations Center and has announced the creation of a task force as well as guidelines for City employees and City business.

Original Story: 

WORCESTER - The Worcester Public School system is monitoring the coronavirus pandemic closely and currently has no plans to close schools or offices in the coming weeks, according to a ConnectED message to families on Wednesday evening and a notice delivered to faculty and staff on Thursday morning. 

"At this point, there is no plan to close school or office building. Should anything change, you will be notified immediately," the message to staff read.

The school department says they're taking all precautions possible and advise staff to use disinfectant and sanitizer. 

WPS will continue to follow protocol from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Public Health.

The City of Worcester will be holding a press conference on Thursday evening at 5 PM in the Levi Lincoln Chamber at City Hall. City Manager Ed Augustus, Mayor Joe Petty and representatives from the Worcester Division of Public Health will be speaking at the briefing.

The announcement will be broadcast on Facebook Live via the City of Worcester Facebook page as well as the City of Worcester government channel (Spectrum Channel 192) and online stream. For more information on COVID-19, please visit www.worcesterma.gov/coronavirus.

Be sure to tune in to Channels 1 or 776 for Spectrum News 1 coverage at 6 PM.