[dugditches]

So shutting down the schools to stop the spread, so children don't spread it to their older family members will hurt youth the worst?

A lot of issues with shutting down schools is in regards to childcare and food(meal programs) in the United States. Not their 'futures'.

[the-pigeon]

And to expand on this.

This is a wildfire. Shutting things down slows the fire's movement which buys time to fully track it and isolate only the affected individuals.

Specific to Italy, their hospitals are already past the breaking point in many areas. So people that would be easy to treat with medical resources are dying because the resources are exhausted. By stopping the immediate spread by isolating everyone their hospitals can get to a stable point in a few weeks.

[stOneskull]

i think that is the main point. it would be good to just let everyone get the virus and then get back to normal, but there aren't enough medical resources for everyone at once.

[bpodgursky]

Are you really arguing that shutting down schools does not set students back educationally?

The prevention measures obviously do hurt the youth the most. Maybe you calculate on the balance it's worth doing, but there's really no question that the shutdown does impact students more than retirees.