RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Raleigh County Schools say they are monitoring the potential of a coronavirus outbreak.
In a press release, the school system says they are maintaining contact with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia Bureau for Public Health’s Office of Disease Control and Prevention, Raleigh County Health Department and the West Virginia Department of Education.
If a student or employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, they must stay home for the recommended 14-day period they are considered to be contagious. The person’s doctor must notify the Raleigh County Health Department of the positive diagnoses. Parents are asked to notify Deborah Kaplan, Director of School Health. The student or employee must also submit documentation from their doctor when cleared to return to school or work.
Officials remind students, parents, and staff that good ways to prevent catching the coronavirus are as follows:
- Avoid close contact with those who are sick
- Avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth
- Stay home when you are sick
- Practice good cough and sneeze etiquette
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when water and soap are unavailable.
The coronavirus is a family of viruses that typically present symptoms similar to the common cold. Many people have experienced the coronavirus in the past, believed it to be a cold and recovered within a couple of weeks. The novel coronavirus currently making its way across the world started in Wuhan, China and is often referred to as COVID-19.
The school says that if a student or employee has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, the individual’s school or office building could be closed for up to 14 days for a thorough cleaning. Raleigh County Schools will follow the cleaning process recommended by the CDC. All extra-curricular activities for that school will be canceled if a school is closed.
