February 7, 2020
It is important that we are all equipped with the information needed to remain informed about the outbreak of the new Coronavirus.
I have attached a packet here in both English and Spanish with information from the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, who are closely monitoring the virus’ development.
There has been an important update from the Department of Public Health that you need to know:
- To date, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Santa Cruz County, and residents are at low risk of becoming infected.
- However, there was recently a report published that explained asymptomatic transmission of the virus is possible. Because of this concern, the department of public health is now asking schools to do the following:
- If you have students or staff who have traveled to the Hubei province in Central China within the last 14 days to please ask them to immediately return home and call the Santa Cruz County Communicable Disease Unit at (831) 454-4114 during business hours, or, if after hours at (831) 471-1170, so that they can provide guidance on monitoring themselves carefully for symptoms for the 14 days since their last day in China.
- Students and family members who have been to other areas of mainland China (this excludes Hong Kong) within the last 14 days and who returned February 2 or later, should not come to school. They should also call the above numbers for further guidance.
- Please do not require a physician’s clearance to return to work or school for students, employees, or other staff who have returned from traveling and are not sick, as this has been impacting the medical system and preventing patients from being seen who are ill.
- Please see the attached letter to administrators for more information.
- As a preventative measure, we encourage all students, staff, and parents to take common-sense precautions to prevent spread of all infectious diseases, including common illnesses like colds and the flu. Such precautions include:
- Encourage students and staff to stay home when sick.
- Promote hand hygiene among students and staff through education, scheduled times for hand-washing, and ensuring the availability of soap, water, and hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Teach and encourage safe cough etiquette – cough or sneeze into a tissue, sleeve, or arm (do not use hands).
- Provide routine surface cleaning
- The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency has a range of information available on their website, which includes more information, helpful FAQ’s, and free crisis telephone lines.
Please read the following letter and share the attached packet with your district employees, teachers, and parents.