ConVal students who traveled to Italy with the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs during winter break last week have been asked to remain at home for the next two weeks, along with other students who have traveled to areas affected by the coronavirus.
“All schools are open. Students who have traveled to affected areas will remain home from school for 14 days,” ConVal School District superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders announced in an update posted to the school district website Monday afternoon.
On Sunday students who had traveled to Italy were asked by the school district to remain at home while the coronavirus threat was assessed.
Saunders issued the request that students remain out of school for a two-week period as a precaution after meeting with other school officials Monday.
The decision came the same day New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services said a Grafton man has tested positive for COVID-19.
Jake Leon, Communications Director for the department of health, told the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript on Monday that the results are “presumptive” and will be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Grafton County man has mild symptoms, not requiring hospitalization, and so is self-isolating himself at home, Leon said. The man had recently returned from a trip to Italy, Leon said. And according to the Valley News the man is a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employee.
“My understanding is the symptoms are mild,” Leon said. “The symptoms were not severe enough to warrant hospitalization.”
Leon is also working with Monadnock Community Hospital staff in Peterborough as they prepare for a possible escalation of the virus in New Hampshire. he said.
While the coronavirus appears to be spreading rapidly in other parts of the county and the globe, the situation in New Hampshire remains mild for now, he said.
“It’s still fairly mild, the situation here in New Hampshire,” Leon said. “The situation here could change course as we learn more about transmission.”
He said whether students stay home or not right now is up to the school districts. Many, he said, across the state are making the decision to ask students to stay home during that 14 day incubation period of when they came home from an affected area like Italy.
“Everyone should be using their best judgment. For right now,” he said.
Leon added following the guidelines of washing your hands frequently, avoid touching your face and stay at home if you have a fever or a respiratory illness is the best way to prevent the virus from spreading.
“This stuff works,” he said. “It’s an evolving situation, use those best practices to stop the spread.”
In a message to the community on Sunday, Saunders wrote that over the weekend she was in contact with the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs Italy trip coordinator as well as the parents of the choir members from ConVal who traveled to Italy to perform over winter break.
“This was not a ConVal sponsored event so communication regarding the trip and the members return needed to be coordinated,” Saunders wrote. “The choir did not travel to any areas in Italy that are presently impacted by COVID-19 nor do their members show any symptoms of being in anyway ill. Nonetheless, in conjunction with The Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, the decision has been made that those that traveled to Italy will remain at home tomorrow to give the School District and The Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs the opportunity to review the latest information and coordinate with State and local health officials.”
She added that school district officials continue to follow the information being shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the New Hampshire Bureau of Infectious Disease.
“As we have new information from these organizations, we will update our plans, procedures, and protocols in the best interest of our communities’ health and safety. Additionally, as we become aware of families, students, and staff who have traveled abroad to any countries under the COVID-19 travel advisory, we will work closely with them related to both attendance and education,” she wrote.
In a message to the community on Friday, Saunders wrote the virus is less likely to impact the health of any of the district’s students than other community members. But added that school officials “believe that we have a responsibility to our entire community to inform them about our current practices, our next steps, and our long-term plans in the unlikely case of a community outbreak of COVID-19.”
“We have continued to practice our heightened cleaning and disinfecting that we do regularly during the flu season. This includes, but is not limited to, the regular wiping down of surfaces and computer keyboards, the consistent cleaning of door handles, the daily cleaning of classrooms and bathrooms, as well as ongoing instruction of students to wash their hands, use tissues, avoid touching face, eyes, and nose, and practice good sneezing and coughing habits (i.e. sneezing or coughing into your sleeve and then wiping your nose and washing your hands). All of these practices will continue, and we will be adding suggested steps from the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control that we recently received,” she wrote.
Parents should keep students at home if they have a fever, Saunders also wrote. “As with all illnesses, if you keep your student home because they have a fever and respiratory symptoms, the missed school days will be considered excused absences.”
“If a student comes to the nurse with a fever or respiratory symptoms, they will be instructed to wear a face mask until they are able to be picked up. Nurses will also inquire about students’ recent travel,” she wrote. “Symptoms according to the CDC include a fever, cough, and shortness of breath.”
For the most up-to-date information go online to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) website (https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/2019-ncov.htm), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website (https:// www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html), or the World Health Organization (WHO) website (https:// www.who.int/emergen…/diseases/novel-coronavirus -2019).