Carlsbad Unified School District: Large Gatherings Update - March 12, 2020

From the Carlsbad Unified School District:

March 12, 2020

Carlsbad Unified families and staff,

Late last night, officials from the California Department of Public Health released new guidance that includes the following:

1. Large gatherings that include 250 people or more should be postponed or canceled. This guidance does not apply to activities such as attendance at regular school classes, work, or essential services.
2. Smaller gatherings held in venues that do not allow social distancing of 6 feet per person should be postponed or canceled. This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms, or other venues.
3. A “gathering” is any event or convening that brings together people in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, or any other indoor or outdoor space.

Based on this guidance, as of 10:00 am on Thursday, March 12, 2020, and at least through the end of March 2020, Carlsbad Unified School District is immediately suspending all large gatherings that include 250 people or more, including music performances. We are also suspending the kindergarten round up events planned for today and tomorrow. We will determine at a future date whether or not any of the suspended events can be rescheduled. We will also determine at a future date whether or not we will extend this guidance into the month of April.

District officials have a conference call (at 3:00 this afternoon) with public health officials and the County Office of Education to discuss CIF sports; we will provide further guidance regarding athletic practices and competitions later this afternoon. We anticipate cancelling practices and games, and will advise as soon as possible.

Principals are being directed to suspend all non-essential meetings or gatherings, such as PTA meetings, class performances, etc. Please be on the lookout for communication from your principal about the cancellation of these events.

In addition, as of 10:00 am on Thursday, March 12, 2020, Carlsbad Unified School District is immediately implementing visitor and volunteer restrictions. While we greatly appreciate parent and community volunteers, at this time non-essential visitors should be restricted on campus. Out of an abundance of caution, this includes volunteers and parents entering campus for non-essential business.

We thank you for your continued support as we work through issues related to the COVID-19 situation. We know that the cancellation of events will be terribly disappointing for students, parents, and family members. We will discuss at a future date whether or not some events can be rescheduled. Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we work with local health officials to ensure the safety of students, staff and community.

This press release was produced by the Carlsbad Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.