LOS ANGELES, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Public schools in the U.S. state of California will not reopen before the end of this academic year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday.

Newsom noted that it is "a right thing to do for our children" and for their parents in response to the spread of the coronavirus. He encouraged California students to study at home. "I know how stressful this is," said the governor.

Newsom also announced that Google will help California students by providing 100,000 WiFi access points and thousands of Chromebooks.

California's State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond released a statement Tuesday regarding the 2019-20 school year.

"Due to the current safety concerns and needs for ongoing social distancing, it currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year," he said.

"In order to allow schools to plan accordingly, and to ensure that learning still occurs until the end of the school year, we are suggesting that schools plan and prepare to have their curriculum carried out through a distance learning model," he added.

Thurmond said that the education authorities are "doing everything we can to support our schools and their distance learning opportunities for our students."

There are more than 6 million students in K-12 schools in California, according to a statement from Newsom's office last month. Enditem

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