NY Coronavirus: Ossining Schools Update Parents

OSSINING, NY — Ossining school officials continue to update parents about what the district is doing and what families should do about the new coronavirus. The school district is in daily contact with health professionals about COVID-19, Superintendent Ray Sanchez said.

"In addition to monitoring the situation, please be advised that part of our preparedness process includes the use of special equipment and products that provide a disinfection of instructional areas and spaces," Sanchez wrote in last week's update. "Should a child be absent from school due to an illness, please contact your child’s school."

He reminded district residents that students would not be excluded from school or any school activities based on race, country of origin, or recent travel (or a family member’s recent travel), including to any part of China. Schools may only exclude a student if a local health department informs the school that a student must comply with a quarantine order or the student is symptomatic of a communicable or infectious disease pursuant to Education Law §906.

"Health experts have advised that there is no need to cancel school or social events, and there is no need for students or school staff to wear surgical masks at school," Sanchez said.

This week, he told parents, "We are teaching children the right way to wash hands. Please reinforce these steps at home. Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs."

Follow these steps every time:

1. Wet your hands with warm running water.
2. Lather with soap by rubbing hands together. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between fingers, and under your nails.
3. Wash for at least 20 seconds. That is about as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
4. Rinse hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands with a paper towel.
6. Use paper towel to turn off the tap/sink.
7. Dispose of paper towels in garbage pail.

* Hand sanitizer gels should only be used when soap and water are not available. Apply sanitizer gel to the palm of one hand, rub hands together, rub sanitizer gel over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry. Hand sanitizing gels do NOT remove food protein/allergens.

Respiratory/Cough Etiquette

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands.
• Put your used tissues in a garbage can.
• Always keep hands away from your face. Avoiding touching mouth, nose, or rubbing eyes with hands.

"We encourage all families to take some time to remind children about hand-washing and respiratory etiquette. We also remind families to have their child stay home when they are sick," he wrote.

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