Safety in the Learning Environment

COVID-19

Mary Hess BSN,RN

Director of Health and Wellness

1. Keep students and

staff as safe as

possible.

2. Keep lost school/work

time at a minimum.

3. Keep schools OPEN.

Guidelines from the Experts

• Center for Disease Control (CDC)

• Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH)

• Indiana Department of Education (IDOE)

• Allen County Department of Health (ACHD)

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Teamwork

• Stay home when sick

• Social distancing

• Cohort groups/seating charts

• Masks

• Hand washing

• Disinfection

Stay Home When Sick!!

…or if you have had close

contact with someone who has

tested positive for COVID-19

Employee and Student Screeningis required of all each day before coming to

school and work

When someone calls in sick…

• Expect to be asked if you have

symptoms found on the COVID-19 list.

• Expect the rules to return to be MUCH

stricter than you are used to.

• Expect your school nurse to follow up

about when you may return.

When can I return to

school/work?

In most cases you must isolate for at least 10 days from the first day symptoms appeared AND 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medications and with improvement of symptoms.

The individual can return to school if tested negative AND with a note from the provider stating they believe the patient to have an alternate diagnosis and it's appropriate for the patient to return to school.

10 DAYS

Strep ThroatMay Return

• Your school nurse will be

in touch to help you

determine a safe date to

return

When you are absent because

of illness…

Is it 3 Feet… 6 Feet… 3-6 Feet?

AVOID CLOSE CONTACT

Close Contact is less than 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes

Cohort Groups and

Seating Charts

Masks, Face

Coverings and

Shields

Mask Breaks-

What should

they look

like?

Hand Washing and

Hand Sanitizer

Before eating

After using a tissue

After using the restroom

After handling papers or

materials touched by others

When changing rooms/spaces

Getting on and off the bus

On the way out to recess and on

the way back in

After cleaning surfaces

Clean Hands IN Clean Hands Out

Disinfection of Frequently

Touched Surfaces

Surfaces between users

Frequently touched surfaces

Shared objects

Always wash your hands after cleaning!

Applying these mitigation

strategies to EVERYTHING will

decrease the risk of infections!

Illness at School

Students and adults with suspected symptoms of

COVID-19 that can not be easily explained by

documentation of some other health condition should

leave school as quickly as possible.

If there is delay in pickup, they will be isolated from

others until they depart.

School Clinic

School clinics should not be used for non-medical reasons, includes bathroom

and refrigerator use.

Schools need to designate an isolation room/area.

The clinic should have a designated area with sink for routine procedures.

All students sent to the clinic to be evaluated for “symptoms of illness” must

report with their coat and/or belongings.

Each school should have an area outside the clinic where students (socially

spaced) can wait to be seen by the nurse.

Students will be screened for a temperature using a no touch thermometer

before entering the clinic.

Nurses will send students with symptoms of suspected COVID-19 to isolation

room.

Students being evaluated for symptoms that could be related to a chronic

health condition will be treated and rested for less than 15 minutes. At that

point they will be returned to class or sent home.

Minor first aid should be done in the classroom or on the playground when

possible, supplies will be provided by nurse.

SLOW traffic to the clinic when

possible!

What Happens When There is a

Positive Case of COVID-19?

We collaborate with and take the advice of

the ACHD.

We identify “close contacts” and notify them ASAP.

Close contacts must quarantine away from others for 14 days

since their last exposure to the infected person.

Additional cleaning may be necessary depending on the

timeline and circumstances.

Those who are not close contacts do not need to do anything

special. They should continue to self monitor every day, just

like we all do.

Isolation vs Quarantine

Isolation is for people who are sick with symptoms of COVID-19

and/or have tested positive for COVID-19. People are thought to

be no longer infections after 10 days if they have not had a

fever for the last 24 hours and they have improved symptoms.

Quarantine is for people who have been exposed to someone

that tested positive for COVID-19. They are not sick, but they

need to stay away from others to see if they develop symptoms.

People exposed to COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days from

the last time they had contact with the infected person.

Will Schools Close If There is

Case of COVID-19?

It depends on MANY circumstances.

CDC says you can expect a school to close for 2-5 days to identify and quarantine close contacts and implement cleaning.

If we are organized and have good routine procedures, we may be able to keep school open.

We must be able to answer questions the Health Department has with confidents and efficiency.

• A secondary teacher tests positive.

• She only teaches math in one classroom.

• She worked 2 days while infectious.

OK, let’s determine who was high risk

and must be put into quarantine…

• Allen County is doing its own case

investigations- they will report to the Indiana

State Department of Health

• CROSS is the Allen County reporting portal

specifically for schools

• ACHS will prioritize school reports and will

be touch within 1 hour of entry

Resources

IDOE COVID-19 Training video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU7tJMXKeRA&feature=youtu.be&utm_content=&

utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

IDOE COVID-19 information.

https://www.doe.in.gov/covid-19

ISDH Dashboard with information on cases.

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm

ISDH COVID information for schools- Click Back to School Resources Tab.

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2400.htm

Allen County Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. Local data here and resources for

how to safely isolate someone at home, tips on cleaning, and more.

https://www.allencountyhealth.com/get-informed/covid-19/

Indiana COVID-19 testing sites.

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2524.htm