Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The symptoms of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) are fever, cough and shortness of breath. If your child is ill, keep them home from school and notify the school of your child’s absence. A child with a heavy cough and cold, vomiting, and/or fever should stay home. A child must be fever free, without fever reducing medication, for 24 hours before returning to school. We encourage parents/guardians to seek medical attention from a healthcare professional should your child have a fever, cough and/or shortness of breath.

We can all take preventative measures to minimize the spread of communicable diseases. Health authorities indicate that the best ways to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus are the same recommendations for preventing the spread of the flu virus. The Michigan Department of Health Human Services advises the following steps can be taken to prevent spread of flu and the common cold that will also help prevent the Coronavirus disease, including:

• Washing your hands with soap and water.
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or upper sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoiding contact with people who are sick.
• Staying home if you are sick and contact your healthcare provider.

We encourage you to stay informed from experts in the health field. For the most up-to-date information from national, state and local health officials you can visit the Center for Disease Control, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or the Shiawassee County Health Department.

We will continue to monitor the situation, in partnership with our health experts, and will keep you informed if additional measures need to be taken.

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your children.

Definitions

Confirmed Positive: An individual who had a confirmatory viral test performed by way of a throat swab, nose swab or saliva test and that specimen tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.

Contact Tracing: A strategy for slowing the spread of disease in which public health workers communicate with infectious people to identify their contacts. They then follow up with those contacts to provide guidance on how to quarantine themselves and what to do if they develop symptoms of disease.

Isolation: The practice of separating people infected with the virus (those who are sick with COVID-19 and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected. People who are in isolation (usually for 10 days) must stay home until it’s safe for them to be around others. In the home, anyone sick or infected must separate themselves from others by staying in a specific “sick room” or area and using a separate bathroom (if available).

Primary Contact (Close Contact): A person who was within 6 feet of a person infected with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes, with or without a mask, starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to positive test result). 

Probable Cases: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a probable case as a person meeting clinical criteria AND epidemiological evidence with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19; a person meeting presumptive laboratory evidence AND either clinical criteria OR epidemiologic evidence; a person meeting vital records criteria with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19. 

Quarantine: The practice of keeping someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine must stay home (usually 14 days), separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.