Corona Virus Update
As you may have heard on the news last night, the Ventura County Department of Public Health (Public Health), out of an abundance of caution, is asking school districts and other organizations to develop a plan for social distancing. "The discovery of community transmission elsewhere in the State makes me feel that COVID-19 could arrive in our County at any time, and we want to be prepared," stated Dr. Robert Levin, Health Officer with Public Health. Dr. Levin has stressed that these plans will not be put into place immediately. Our focus remains on taking action to prevent Coronavirus.
Social distancing means staying at least six feet away from other people so that the virus cannot be transmitted. However, it is essential to note that these decisions will not be made in a vacuum. All of the Superintendents in Ventura County will be working together alongside the Ventura County Office of Education and the Ventura County Department of Public Health to determine the best courses of action. Depending on the level of necessary social distancing, such plans could include the cancellation of large non-essential gatherings and temporary school closures. We will take the lead from Public Health to determine what will trigger the level of social distancing needed.
We remain in a preventative stage, and we remind you of the following:
- Remember to use basic cold and flu precautions every day, including covering coughs, washing hands with soap and water, and throwing away tissues after use.
- If your child is sick, please keep them home from school to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses and flu. Per Ed Code and district attendance guidelines, any parent/guardian that reports to their school that their student is out ill, the student's absence will be excused.
- A fever is defined as 100.5°F or higher, please keep your child home from school for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone. (The fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
- Face masks are most useful for preventing disease spread when they are worn by people who have symptoms. There is no recommendation by Public Health to use masks at this time in the schools.
- We will be focusing the cleaning of our classrooms to high touch areas such as desks, handles, and drinking fountains utilizing cleaners that have shown effectiveness against viruses similar to the Coronavirus.
- We are dedicated to ensuring each school has enough soap for all students to wash their hands. If you would like to send alcohol-based hand sanitizer with your student to school or donate to teachers, that is welcome, but we request that it be unscented and ask that you remind your students not to share due to potential for allergies.
- Please remind students not to share water bottles.
Additional Public Information