The safety of our students and staff is our top responsibility. Caldwell Parish Schools are in communication with the Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Department of Education about COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. Of the approximately 125,000 cases of Coronavirus worldwide, less than 1% of cases are in the U.S. (as of 3/11/20). There are currently 14 positive cases in Louisiana and no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Caldwell Parish. (as of 3/11/20). This link explains more about Coronavirus. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf

 

Health officials have shared that the best ways to prevent the spread of Coronavirus are the same preventions recommended for the flu and common cold. As we are still in cold and flu season, we advise you and your student(s) to take these everyday preventive actions that are always recommended to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:

-Stay home and seek appropriate medical attention when you are sick (fever, dry cough, body aches, etc…)

-Avoid contact with people who are sick. 
-Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. The constant rubbing action helps soap break down the grease and dirt that carry most germs. This way, your hands don’t just smell fresh, but you’ll also reduce the germ count on your hands by up to 99%. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
-If soap and water is unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 
-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.

In addition to encouraging employees and families to follow the above preventative actions, we are taking the following additional steps to minimize the chance of an outbreak at one of our schools:

 

-Increasing sanitation efforts in our schools and buildings, including restrooms, cafeterias, classrooms, etc. 

-Classrooms and computer labs are being provided disinfectant products and instructed to use them for cleaning Chromebooks, Laptops, and keyboards. Elementary Principals have been advised to require lab paraprofessionals and teachers to use “supply list” wipes to do the same on their computer equipment daily.
-Providing school staff with resources to disinfect school buildings and prevent spreading of germs. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/cleaning.htm
-Providing updated information to all employees for common illness prevention. (Staff meetings, department meetings including cafeteria and maintenance staff, website, School App, etc.)
-Monitoring absences daily.
-Cancelling out-of-state travel for student field trips, competitions, etc. until further notice.
-Students and staff displaying signs and symptoms of a flu-like illness (fever, coughing, chills, headache, fatigue, sore throat, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, runny or stuffy nose, and/or shortness of breath) may be sent home and will be required to stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medication. These students will be separated from the general student population until guardians can pick them up. 
-Conducting a Community Access Survey to determine internet availability in students’ homes in the event of school closure.

As this is an ongoing situation, the CDC updates its online resources daily. These can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you if we have more information.