Family Message - March 5, 2020
We are committed to keeping you informed about our response to coronavirus. Here is your daily update.
We continue to have no known cases of COVID-19 among students or staff in Highline. Public Health is not currently recommending that schools proactively close unless they have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member or student.
This guidance may have been confusing for some families and schools because schools bring together large groups of children. School closures have significant negative impacts on our community.
The considerations Public Health has taken in their decision not to currently recommend routine closure at schools include:
- Children are not known to get seriously ill from COVID-19
- Closing schools may not be effective because some children may congregate anyway, at other locations
- Many parents, such as healthcare workers, need to be at work. If these critical workers stay home with children it causes significant impacts on the healthcare system and other institutions that are essential for our community to function
- If schools close, some children might have to stay home with alternative caregivers, such as elders, who are more vulnerable
- We don’t know how effective children are in spreading this disease
Learn more about how Public Health makes this decision.
Students with Health Conditions
Some children and staff may be at higher risk for severe illness because of underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system. Public Health advises that families consult with their healthcare provider to decide the best course of action. If you decide to keep your child home, the absence will be excused.
Additional Deep Cleaning
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White Center Heights: A WCH staff member who has been out ill this week has symptoms that may be related to Coronavirus. The individual is staying home and being monitored by a doctor. The doctor has not recommended a COVID-19 test at this time. We deep cleaned WCH last night.
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Chinook: A Chinook parent of a student has been advised by their doctor to go into quarantine, and Chinook will get a deep cleaning tonight as a precaution. The parent has not been tested for COVID-19.
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Hilltop: We want to give you an update on the Hilltop family member who was being monitored for potential contact with Coronavirus. It has been confirmed that there was in fact no contact with COVID-19.
We are treating all of these situations with an abundance of caution and will continue to monitor.
Please visit our website for more information and frequent updates.