February 26, 2020 Dear Loomis Chaffee Parents and Students, Over the past several days, news of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has dominated the headlines in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that while the virus "is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States … the potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 is high, both globally and to the United States." Widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the U.S. is a very real possibility, and we have a responsibility to prepare the Loomis Chaffee community for such an occurrence. The school's emergency response team continues to meet to review plans should COVID-19 spread and affect our school. We will employ and communicate these plans as the situation warrants. In the meantime, as we head into the March break, we ask all community members — students, parents, and faculty and staff — to abide by the following protocols. - Travel outside the United States. All community members are expected to follow CDC and U.S. State Department travel guidelines. Currently, this means avoiding all non-essential travel to China and South Korea, where there are widespread community transmissions of COVID-19. If you choose to travel to China or South Korea, you may be subject to health screenings and possible restriction of movement within the U.S. for at least 14 days prior to your return to our campus. IMPORTANT: Loomis Chaffee is not equipped to support such individuals on our campus, so you will need to make other arrangements for your child.
If you are traveling to other countries during the break, please closely monitor CDC travel notices. Currently, the CDC has advised travelers to Japan, Iran, and Italy to practice enhanced precautions, and travelers to Hong Kong to practice usual precautions. Situations in these and other countries are rapidly evolving and may result in increased travel restrictions and health screenings implemented over the course of the March break, which could affect your ability to return to campus at the end of the vacation. The CDC also recommends that all travelers reconsider cruise ship voyages. For more detailed information about CDC travel advisories, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.
We realize these travel restrictions will require some of you to change your March break plans. International families are reminded to contact Jaci Cardwell, director of international students, to discuss alternative arrangements.
IMPORTANT: Loomis Chaffee will close during March break. All students must leave the Island so that we have the time for our faculty and students to rest and for us to continue to deep clean the campus.
Due to the rapidly evolving situation in Italy and the CDC's travel advisory, we have canceled the Alvord Center-sponsored international education program trip to Italy, originally scheduled for March. The March IEP trip to the Galapagos Islands is currently proceeding as planned.
- Returning to campus from March break. During the March break there is always the possibility that community members may become sick with the flu or other illnesses. If a student or faculty/staff member is diagnosed off-campus with the flu, we generally advise 3-5 days away from school, depending on symptoms, as well as being fever free without medication for at least 24 hours. Parents are also asked to stay at home if they are ill. If a student or faculty/staff member is diagnosed off-campus with COVID-19, they cannot return to campus until they are fully recovered, receive clearance from their physician, and notify the Loomis Chaffee Health Center.
If your child's return to campus at the end of March break is delayed due to illness or travel restrictions, please inform your child's dorm head or dean. We will work with your child's teachers to implement a remote learning plan for the duration of their absence.
- Prescription medication. Earlier this week the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) noted that it is "surveilling the medical product supply chain for potential shortages or disruptions" as part of its multi-pronged approach to the COVID-19 outbreak. Boarding parents, if your child takes prescription medication, we ask that you begin discussions with their prescriber to plan for cases in which the medical supply chain could be affected by COVID-19. This may mean obtaining multiple refills at once, or a larger quantity per refill, if available. The Health Center can also assist you with these questions/plans.
As a reminder, if you plan to have your student start a new prescription over March break, please contact the Health Center before next Friday to discuss any specific requirements. International medications are not allowed to be kept in dorm rooms and should also be discussed with the Health Center before being sent.
- Emergency contacts for boarding students. In the event that a student should become ill and have to leave campus and/or an outbreak of illness on campus requires the school to close, all boarding students need to have a plan to leave campus. This is the reason we require every boarding student to have an emergency contact within 300 miles of campus who can care for the student if needed.
We ask that all boarding families log into their Veracross portal and make sure that they have a person designated as their child's emergency contact. Many parents have listed related people in their profile but have not specified whom the emergency contact should be. To get to the Veracross portal, log on to the Parent Portal and click on the "Veracross" icon in the section titled "My Veracross." This will bring you to the Veracross portal, where you can click on the icon "Update Family Profile," which is located in the upper right-hand section of the Veracross portal home page. As noted above, the school's emergency response team is reviewing plans for multiple scenarios that the COVID-19 health threat may pose. In addition to the recommendations of the CDC, our plans will be informed by the advice of local, state, and national health officials and by state and federal government agencies. We ask all community members to follow the measures below to reduce your chances of contracting or spreading the flu and other similar illnesses: - Wash your hands frequently. There is a proper method for effective hand washing and use of hand sanitizer (available across campus). Please refer to the Mayo Clinic's advice on this topic at https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/hand-washing/art-20046253.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue or your sleeve when sneezing or coughing.
- Make sure you get enough sleep.
- If you experience fever, persistent coughing, or difficulty breathing, seek medical attention through the Health Center (for students) or your health care provider.
- If you are ill, stay home. Work can wait — for students, faculty, and staff! Your health and the well-being of the community are of primary importance.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
News about and recommended responses to the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to change rapidly over the next several weeks. We encourage you to stay informed using the resources below and to monitor your email for updated information from Loomis Chaffee. My hope is that the March break provides an opportunity for our students and faculty and staff to rest and recover from any lingering winter term illnesses. In the meantime, please contact your child's dean or the Health Center if you have any specific questions or concerns. Sincerely, Sheila Culbert Resources: CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 |