COVID-19

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS

Coronavirus

According to Department of Education, Corona viruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Coronaviruses are transmitted between animals and people.

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019.

The following are information on COVID 19:

Disease: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Virus strain: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
First case: December 1, 2019
Origin: Wuhan, Hubei, China
Symptoms: Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19: Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.
Incubation period: 1-14 days
Mode of transmission: Human-to-human transmission via respiratory droplets
Prevention tips: Avoiding close contact with sick individuals; frequently washing hands with soap and water; not touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands; and practicing good respiratory hygiene.

How Does COVID -19 Spread?
According to the Centers Diseases Control, the virus is thought be spread mainly from person-to-person. This means it may spread between people who are in close contact with one another within about 6 feet, or through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nor showing symptoms.
The Centers Disease Control also reports that it may be possible for someone to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object with the virus on it, and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes, but this is not through to be the main way the virus spreads.
The best way to prevent illness from COVIC-19 is to avoid being exposed to the virus, as there currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

To prevent illness at School, practice hand washing

Proper hand washing is a major way to keep germs from spreading. Many studies have shown that hand washing education and proper hand washing with soap reduce the transmission of illness. One study reported reduced absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%.

During common daily activities, hands get contaminated with germs that cause respiratory, gastrointestinal or other illnesses. Germs get on hands from activities like using the bathroom, changing a diaper, handling raw meat, playing with animals or cleaning up after them. A single gram of human feces (poop) — which is about the weight of a paper clip — can contain one trillion germs. When these germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person to person and make people sick. Germs can get on hands when people touch things that have been contaminated. For example, touching an object that was coughed or sneezed on or touched by another contaminated object.

Teach Students the Right Way to Wash Hands

Wet hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), and apply plain fragrance-free soap.
Lather hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails. The area under the fingernails typically has the largest concentration of germs on the hand and is the most difficult to clean.
Scrub hands for at least 20 seconds. Use hand washing songs, such as Center Disease Control Happy Hand washing Song, to encourage complete handwashing.
Rinse hands well under clean, running water.
Dry hands using a clean towel then turn off the tap.

Wash Hands Often

It is important to wash hands often because people may have germs on their hands then touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Provide time needed for all students and staff to wash hands frequently, especially:

Before preparing or eating food.
After using the bathroom.
After recess, P.E. class, sports practice or games.
After returning from a field trip.
After petting, handling or cleaning up after animals.
After blowing nose, coughing or sneezing.
After touching an infected wound.
Before and after treating a cut or wound.
Before and after caring for someone who is sick.
After touching garbage.

Choose Hand washing Instead of Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for proper handwashing. Hand Sanitizers aren’t effective when hands are dirty or greasy. Proper handwashing with soap and water removes germs and dirt. Scrubbing and rinsing are necessary to wash off the dirt and germs. Application of hand sanitizers typically doesn’t include the important scrubbing, rinsing, and drying steps. Hand sanitizers have very limited ability to kill even flu viruses and they don’t kill germs like norovirus, which causes gastrointestinal illness. When there is no access to a sink, such as on a field trip, you can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers (at least 60% alcohol, dye-free and fragrance-free), but rub a generous amount and thoroughly wet the skin. Be aware that some people may have a sensitivity reaction since hand sanitizers are a chemical.

Considerations for Wearing Masks

Centers Diseases Control recommends that people wear masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
Masks may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.
Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings.
Masks should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Evidence for Effectiveness of Masks

Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help

prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air

and onto other people when the person wearing the mask

coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. This is

called source control. This recommendation is based on

what we know about the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, paired with emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that shows masks reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth. COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), so the use of masks is particularly important in settings where people are close to each other or where social distancing is difficult to maintain.