Dr. Brumley's March 12 Message About Coronavirus Precautions
Dear Families,
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Jefferson Parish Schools. With Governor Edwards’ announcement of additional cases of coronavirus in Louisiana this week, we understand our families and staff have concerns. We share those concerns and take the health and safety of our community seriously.
As the largest school system in the state and one of the largest employers in Jefferson Parish, we may have students and staff members who came in direct contact with a patient or live in the same household with someone who had direct contact with a patient. Out of an abundance of caution and to follow the guidelines we’ve adopted to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases, these students or staff members will be asked to remain at home for 14 days. We will review each situation on a case-by-case basis to make the best decision. To help calm any concerns staff and families may have, we will also conduct additional cleaning and disinfecting on that campus.
Health officials recommend that the best ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus are the same preventions recommended for the flu and common cold. We advise you to continue the following best practices:
- If you or your student is sick, stay home. In addition to good hygiene habits, staying home when sick is an important preventative measure against the spread of this or any other virus. The CDC has identified fever, persistent cough, and difficulty breathing as the most common symptoms of coronavirus.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol-based.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid sharing your food, dishes, utensils, and other personal hygiene items.
- Cough or sneeze into your elbow or use a tissue and place immediately in the trash.
- Avoid shaking hands.
We will continue to maximize our preventative efforts by increasing sanitation efforts in our buildings, monitoring absences daily, requiring all employees to conduct a common illness prevention course, and asking any employees or students who have visited one of the CDC’s risk assessed countries to wait 14 days before returning to work or school. We will also update jpschools.org/health with coronavirus communications and resources for families.
We have been planning for how to respond to the first positive case in our district. If we have a positive test from a student or employee, we would first notify the Louisiana Department of Health and request their guidance on appropriate next steps. We would work with an outside licensed vendor to conduct a deep cleaning of the school. We would also notify you and our employees. The decision on whether or not to close school would be based on the recommendation of health officials and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Our goal is to keep schools open. Our families depend on the consistency and predictability of supports and services our schools offer. The longer we can keep our doors open, the better it will be for our students and the entire community. We know that school closures affect our local community and can disrupt family work schedules. Many of our families rely on schools for basic needs including child care and regular meals. Many of our students have parents who work in various roles in the medical field, and these parents need to be at work during this time.
We will continue to work in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health, the Jefferson Parish government, and the Centers for Disease Control to follow their guidance. We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and respond accordingly.
I know these two weeks haven’t been easy. Thank you for your patience, flexibility, and understanding as we continue pushing for what’s best for our kids.