Sparta Closes School To Prepare For Possible Coronavirus

SPARTA, NJ - The Sparta School District has accelerated their novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 prep be cancelling school for students Friday to hold a full professional development day for staff, according to Superintendent Michael A. Rossi.

In a missive to parents Rossi noted that students should not report to school on Monday and that all field trips through April 30 are cancelled.

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"We trust that the expertise of our classroom instructors working cooperatively with our leadership team will ensure that our students are provided with equitable and effective learning experiences in the event of a district closure," Rossi said. "In that case, we will send out more specific information regarding instructional plans, home access to technology, and food services."

According to Rossi the custodial and maintenance and grounds staff continues to work towards enhanced sanitizing and cleaning of all areas and has significantly allocated more cleaning supplies towards this effort. The district is also making use of newer and improved products that are hospital-grade and food-service safe.

"Internally, we have been meeting daily about the requirements set forth by the Center for Disease Control, the state and local Department of Health, the Sparta Police Department, and other agencies helping to coordinate the effort," Rossi said. "The essential message, in addition to the health, safety, and sanitary guidelines, is that we need to be prepared to provide equitable continuity of instruction for up to 14 days in the case that we are mandated to close by the Department of Health."

This includes differentiation to support students with IEPs, 504s, and other academic plans. In addition, all related services will be provided to students upon their return.

"Maschio’s Food Service will provide meals for those students who are on Free and Reduced lunch," Rossi said.

Guidance Regarding Requirements for Public Health-Related School Closure
In order to support faculty and staff, we will use Friday’s scheduled half-day in-service for K-12 instructional planning. In addition, we will utilize our remaining emergency school closing day on Monday, March 16th in order to provide a full-day staff in-service.

Counting the new cases Thursday, there have been 29 people diagnosed with presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey as of Thursday afternoon, with one person dying from the disease. Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency, and schools across the state have begun to cancel classes. READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)In general – depending on where they live – New Jersey residents still face a "low risk" of contracting COVID-19, State Epidemiologist Christina Tan said during a Wednesday press conference.

There have been more than 1,300 confirmed U.S. cases of the new coronavirus as of Thursday morning according to Johns Hopkins University, which said the disease also has killed 38 people nationwide.

• See related article: $8B To Fight Coronavirus; NJ Lawmakers Back Huge Spending Bill

WHAT IS COVID-19?
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

The CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a health care professional recommends it. A face mask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected. The use of face masks also is crucial for health workers and other people who are taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

Residents who have questions about the virus can contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222. The hotline is home of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, and is staffed 24 hours a day by state health workers.

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