Obama: School Closings May Be Needed

Washington

President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that school closings may be necessary, in an escalating global health emergency that claimed the first death in the United States and swept Germany onto the roster of afflicted nations. Obama said local educators across America should consider shuttering schools if conditions worsen.

Giving an update on a raging health menace that has dominated public officials' time and caused universal anxiety, Obama said, "Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control this virus."

He said he wanted to extend "my thoughts and prayers" to the family of a 23-month-old Texas boy who died, representing the first confirmed U.S. fatality in addition to more...