Zunnobia Hakir keeps her 6-year-old son’s schedule busy.

There are piano lessons and chess club, chorus and sign language classes. He attends Hearst Elementary School in the District, belongs to an after-school program and plays with friends until dinnertime on most school days.

Hakir’s careful schedule, along with those of thousands of families across the Washington region, was thrown into chaos this week after all public schools in D.C., Maryland and Virginia shuttered for at least two weeks to combat the coronavirus.

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Frazzled parents found themselves juggling child care and work responsibilities from home, entertaining their children in between answering calls and sending emails. Some have enlisted neighbors and grandparents to babysit. Others, faced with the prospect the closures could stretch for much longer, are considering taking time off work.

Coronavirus has added another layer of complexity. Parents are being careful about who they ask to watch their children, worried about becoming exposed to the virus or to protect the health of older family members who are more susceptible to becoming ill. Some health officials are advising against play dates, which many parents rely on for a few hours of respite.

Hakir, a sergeant for the Metropolitan Police Department, works overnight and cannot work from home. Students in D.C. Public Schools are expected to start remote learning next week and Hakir wonders how she will replicate the math and reading lessons, the gym and recess her son gets at Hearst.

“When I get off work, I’m totally exhausted. But I’m not going to have the option to really be totally exhausted,” she said. “I just don’t know where I’m going to find the energy.”

Many child care facilities remain open but others, including those operated by public school systems, have closed during the outbreak.

In Maryland, more than 1,100 of the state’s 8,000 child care programs have closed, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) expanded child care for health, emergency and law enforcement workers.

The state has issued guidelines for child care centers that remain open, including implementing social distancing and keeping children in groups of 10 or fewer. State officials in Virginia have done the same.

“We know this will be a hardship for many child care providers to change their model, but we know that they are up to the task,” said Duke Storen, head of Virginia’s Department of Social Services.

Storen urged parents who are not essential workers to keep their children home so the state could free space to provide child care for essential workers.

In D.C., about 400 of the city’s 471 licensed child care providers have closed and more closures are expected, according to the city.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which oversees the facilities, said it is working to secure child care services for children whose parents work in hospitals or healthcare.

Still, some parents are paying for the costs of day care, even if facilities are closed.

Stephanie Schliftman, the parent of a five and two-year-old, said she pays $3,500 each month for a private day care in the District. She is still paying for services even though the facility is not currently open.

Schliftman said her husband is still expected to report to work in-person a few days a week, so she is mostly responsible for keeping the children occupied during the day.

She has tried to follow a schedule, assigning the youngsters an art project in the morning while she scrolls through email. She has reluctantly increased her children’s screen time to keep them busy while on conference calls.

She is also working less and waking up early or working into the night.

“We will need help,” said Schliftman, who works as a recruiter. “I can’t do this forever.”

This story first appeared on WAMU.