Recognizing these additional costs many low-income families are now facing, the U.S. Congress should go further in the cash benefit program and provide $1,000 per child. The benefit should have an income cap, $90,000 for singles and $180,000 for couples, so that it targets assistance to those who need it the most. And it should not be a one-time payment, but rather a monthly benefit with clear triggers, such as public-health emergency declarations and extended school closures, to continue the payments until this crisis has abated.

Congress should not wait until the crisis worsens, given the needs families are facing right now that they hadn’t even imagined just two weeks ago. This direct cash assistance could make the difference between a child continuing their studies or falling behind.

A number of strategies can be deployed to flatten the curve: washing hands, canceling mass gatherings, working from home, self-quarantining, avoiding crowds — and closing schools. No one single action is enough. They must be combined to provide a comprehensive approach to slow the spread. This article explores the role of school closures in flattening the curve.

In 2005, while serving as deputy policy director at the U.S. Department of Commerce, I served on an interagency team led by the White House Homeland Security Council that developed the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza and National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan. The strategy relied heavily on ways of slowing the spread of viral transmissions – “flattening the curve” – to reduce strain on the healthcare system and provide the time needed to develop and deploy vaccines. One such measure is closing schools.