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WCSD heightens coronavirus awareness

Warren County School District is stepping up its alertness level of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, district officials spread the word to staff, other education providers, and media that the district would be providing “resources, information, and strategies to help in the planning and management of a pandemic in our school community.”

“The Warren County School District is monitoring the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the potential for a pandemic in our community and state,” Director of Pupil Services Dr. Patricia Hawley said in a release. “The district will update the community resources as information develops.”

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new virus that causes respiratory illness in people and can spread from person-to-person.”

Typical symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Handwashing and keeping surfaces clean are among the key ways the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health (DoH) are suggesting to minimize the spread of the disease.

Every district teachers will deliver a “lesson on handwashing” during first period Tuesday, March 3.

Information about the importance of handwashing will be posted and distributed. “Every classroom, cafeteria, restroom stall, restroom entrance, and office area will post the CDC poster handwashing fact sheet,” Hawley said.

The district will send home information with students on Friday, Feb. 28, and issue a call blast featuring a 15-second CDC message on the importance of handwashing.

The district will also post updates and resources regarding coronavirus on its website — www.wcsdpa.org — and Facebook page.

Among the efforts the district is taking is “monitoring student and employee absences to determine if absences related to illness are increasing in our community,” Hawley said.

“The district has increased custodial services to focus on cleanliness/disinfecting surface areas in classrooms and high-traffic areas, and emptying waste receptacles,” she said.

The district is sharing its resources with St. Joseph School and Tidioute Community Charter School, Hawley said.

“The Erie Catholic Diocese along with the staff here at St. Joseph’s School will continue to monitor the Outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” Principal Nancy Warner said in a Thursday release. “We are also working collaboratively with the Warren County School District and will continue to share resources with each other.”

“Rest assured that we will be following guidelines from the Erie Catholic Diocese and working closely with the local school district as we continue to monitor the situation,” Warner said.

Last week, with the CDC assuming a stance that the “immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low at this time,” the district was asking for information from families that could have been exposed to international travelers from certain locations — including China — and encouraging typical prevention measures like covering coughs and sneezes and washing hands frequently.

“The CDC does not recommend wearing masks or respirators outside of workplace settings,” according to information on the DoH website.

The department is discouraging trips to China. Other than that, the department is recommending the same preventive measures the district has encouraged.

In addition, DoH recommends that Pennsylvanians take time to prepare now. An emergency preparedness guide can be found under the emergency preparedness tab on the DoH website.

The CDC has not changed its low-health-risk assessment as of a Tuesday update.

“However, it’s important to note that current global circumstances suggest it is likely that this virus will cause a pandemic,” according to CDC. “In that case, the risk assessment would be different.”

The risks could include some of the following as outlined in the ‘What May Happen’ section of the CDC website.

“Widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time,” according to the CDC. “Schools, childcare centers, workplaces, and other places for mass gatherings may experience more absenteeism. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and transportation industry may also be affected. Health care providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy.”

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