COVID-19 has forced the cancellations, postponements or alterations of national sports associations, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and most of the state’s school districts, including all of San Diego’s school districts. The Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) has been working on putting measures in place keeping the “life is rad here in Carlsbad” slogan as accurate as can be or to become accurate again as soon as possible.

Students are being urged to check their loop mail and school Gmail account on a daily basis so they receive all necessary information in due time. And while schools are adjusting to keep students learning, officials say it is important to stay informed and aware at this unprecedented time.

“What we are going through is something I have never seen before in my 70 plus years of life,” Mayor Matt Hall said. “This is completely different than 9/11 and anything else that I have ever seen or gone through.”

The situation is as distressing as it is unprecedented. Still, Hall urges for a “one day at a time” attitude.

“[My advice is] every day you sit down and write three to five sentences about your day and look at the situation around you, and then go back in three or four months and re-read that,” Hall said.

The current situation is something to grow from as an individual, and with cases of COVID-19 in Carlsbad escalating to some of the highest numbers throughout San Diego County, it is urgent to stay at home, reflect and stay safe.

“The situation is changing daily, and sometimes hourly,” Superintendent Ben Churchill said. “At this point, we really want people to focus on staying healthy, practice social distancing and prevent the risk of further spread of the virus.”

The U.S. is currently forecasted to surpass 100,000 deaths resulting from COVID-19. To prevent further spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve sooner rather than later, Governor Gavin Newsom has released a flurry of guidelines for the state to follow which sometimes come into contrast with current, local policy.

“This situation has been fast moving and unpredictable,” Principal Dr. Bryan Brockett said. “The shift to remote teacher-led instruction [starting on March 31] is intended to support students in the short term while preparing them for longer term, remote learning should that be necessary.”

As of March 31 California state public schools are not reopening until next school year. Online learning at CHS is projected to continue until summer break.

“We are in unprecedented times, and it’s hard to tell what the future holds as we are all doing our best to flatten the curve,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said. “From what we know right now, our schools will be closed longer than we originally thought, and it will be best if our schools are prepared for that extension by having their distance learning models prepared to go until the end of the school year.”

This article was updated on March 31 8:15 p.m. to reflect a statement by Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond regarding school closures.