Forsyth Schools: Stay Home If Family Recently Returned From China

CUMMING, GA — A recent message to Forsyth County Schools parents asks parents to keep children at home if they recently returned from China, due to the coronavirus.

The letter reads:

FCS Parents/Guardians,

If your child or a member of your family has been to China and recently returned to our community, we request that you wait for the 14-day incubation period (beginning the day of return to the U.S.) to expire before enrolling your child in school or returning to school.

We will not count these absences. Your child will be provided online learning during this period and technology/access if needed.

Please contact your school principal immediately if this applies to your child, even if your child is currently in school.

We do not have a confirmed case of coronavirus in our schools. If this was to occur, we will notify staff and parents/guardians within the school.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping our students and staff safe. More information on the coronavirus is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus

Forsyth County Schools

On Friday, Delta decided to temporarily suspend all U.S.-China flights from Thursday through April 30 due to ongoing concerns related to the new coronavirus, the airline said in a news release. Between now and Wednesday, Delta will continue to operate flights to ensure customers looking to exit China have options to do so.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Chinese authorities are working to contain the new coronavirus, which has resulted in more than 7,800 confirmed cases in China, including outside of Wuhan City.

Additional cases have been identified in a growing number of other international locations, including the United States.

As of Friday, there have been six confirmed cases of the virus in the United States in Washington state, California, Arizona and Illinois, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Health officials say the risk of the coronavirus appearing in Georgia is low overall, but the CDC has shared precautions that doctors and facilities should follow. Health care providers who suspect a new coronavirus infection in a patient are directed to report them immediately to the DPH by calling 866-PUB-HLTH (866-782-4584).

The CDC began public health entry screening last week at airports in San Francisco, Kennedy in New York, Los Angeles, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are part of a large family of viruses that cause illnesses both in humans and animals. In rare cases, animal coronaviruses can evolve to infect people. The new virus is officially referred to as "2019 novel coronavirus" or "2019-nCoV."

More cases are expected in the U.S, the CDC said, even though the overall risk of the new coronavirus to the general public is low. The best way to prevent infection of any respiratory virus is:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or use a tissue to cover it, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

Patients with confirmed the new coronavirus infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. The CDC believes that symptoms of the virus may appear in as few as two days or as long as two weeks after exposure, the release said.

Researchers around the globe are still determining precisely how the virus spreads. Early on, many of the patients in the outbreak in Wuhan, China, reportedly had some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients reportedly have not had exposure to animal markets, indicating a person-to-person spread is occurring. At this time, it's unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading among people, the CDC said.

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