Lyon County public school districts are cleared to remain open at this time, but USD 253 Emporia has not deviated from announced plans to keep students out of classrooms Monday, a local parochial school has a partial closure Monday, another is shut down and districts in two nearby counties are fully closed for two weeks as the coronavirus situation unfolds.
The latest guidance from Lyon County Public Health to the county’s school districts, USD 253 Emporia, USD 251 North Lyon County and USD 252 Southern Lyon County, is that they remain open at this time despite the closure of USD 417 Morris County and other larger districts, including those in Riley and Shawnee counties, on Friday and two Wabaunsee County school districts, Wabaunsee and Mission Valley, on Saturday. Lyon County Health Director Renee Hively:
Emporia Public Schools is still keeping students out of class Monday as it gathers information about a number of out-of-state or out-of-country trips during spring break. The district says it is the parents’ decision to keep students home. If they decide to do so, parents are asked to follow regular procedure by calling the school office.
USD 251 Superintendent Mike Mathes says the decision to keep the county schools open is consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
There has been “extensive” deep cleaning, and the district plans to do more deep cleaning at all times of the day. Mathes says the district may well have to restructure how it delivers meals, including a possibility of meal service in classrooms instead of cafeterias, to minimize the number of people together in one setting.
USD 252 Superintendent Mike Argabright appreciates the widespread coordination underway.
Argabright says the district is looking at several changes in its operations, including transportation or meal service, to minimize the number of people in enclosed spaces. It has also been using machines that essentially fog classrooms with disinfectants, with a deep clean during spring break.
The closed districts will be shut down until at least March 30. For Morris and Wabaunsee county school districts, all activities and athletic events are canceled until school re-opens.
Hively says Lyon County Public Health took “a long, hard look” at the CDC guidelines, and she says the department’s guidance to the districts Saturday reflects the local situation. She says the situation is fluid and Public Health has constantly reviewing developments. With that in mind, Public Health has activated its internal incident command as it reviews the situation in Emporia and Lyon County’s smaller communities. Should a COVID-19 case be reported in a Lyon County school, Hively says health officials will determine if the specific school — not an entire district — needs to be shut down. A districtwide shutdown would depend on what Hively calls moderate community transmission of the virus.
Emporia Christian School has closed K-8 classes for Monday but not its preschool. The school has not said why it’s closing most of the school but not the preschool. Sacred Heart School will close Monday to “assess the health and safety of our school community,” according to Principal Darby O’Neill. The current plan for both schools is to be fully open Tuesday.
There were more coronavirus developments as well. In Emporia and across the area, visitation restrictions at senior care facilities became public late in the week, although several had been reducing traffic for most of the week. At Presbyterian Manor, the facility has told visitors not to arrive at the facility unless they are visiting somebody in hospice or end-of-life care — or if they are considered essential to the resident’s emotional well-being and care. Visitors should also wear personal protective equipment like gloves, masks and scarves and they should limit physical contact with the resident during the visit. Senior Vice President of Health and Wellness Jeanne Gerstenkorn says the visitation restrictions began March 9 and were further restricted Friday. She tells KVOE News there has been a noticeable change.
Holiday Resort is discouraging visitors from entering the building unless necessary. Hours are limited from 8 am to 6 pm. Visitors will need to fill out a questionnaire and have a temperature below 100.3 to be admitted. Visitors are also told to limit their visits to resident rooms and to avoid commons areas.
Flint Hills Care Center has reduced visitation hours from 9 am to 5 pm for necessary visitors only and is encouraging other means of contact, especially video chats or phone calls.
Emporia Place is using signage to direct potential visitors to meet with staff before they can enter.
There were more schedule adjustments as well, as was the case Thursday and Friday. USD 252 — which had already postponed its spring Honor Flight until further notice — has now postponed its donkey basketball fundraiser originally set for March 20 for the cause. A reschedule date has not been announced.
Village Elementary has also canceled its Trivia Night set for March 20 due to the coronavirus situation.
Newman Regional Health Auxiliary Volunteer Coordinator Deb Storrer also announced the Auxiliary unit is closed until hospital administrators say it safe for them to perform their duties. The hospital had already announced the Auxiliary Board’s March meeting was canceled.
Click here for the KVOE.com Closings and Cancellations page.
Statewide, there were several new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Saturday, including two in Johnson County and one in Franklin County. This brings the tentative confirmed count to eight, including one fatality.
We’ll keep you updated throughout the coronavirus situation on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media.
Statement from Lyon County Public Health
Lyon County Public Health in partnership with Lyon County Unified School Districts 251,252, 253 and based on the Center for Disease Control Considerations for School Closure at this time is recommending the Lyon County school districts USD 251, 252, 253 remain open.
Briefly stated the Center for Disease Control recommends, “Factors for Consideration for School Closure Closing schools early in the spread of disease for a short time (e.g., 2 weeks) will be unlikely to stem the spread of disease or prevent impact on the healthcare system, while causing significant disruption for families, schools, and those who may be responding to COVID-19 outbreaks in health care settings. It may also increase the impact on older adults who care for grandchildren. Waiting to enact school closures until at the correct time in the epidemic (e.g., later in the spread of disease) combined with other social distancing interventions allows for optimal impact despite disruption.” We will be following the Center for Disease Control guidelines and will be re-evaluating once a presumed positive case has been received from a school district.
By working together, each one of us has an opportunity to minimize the spread of disease. Everyone should be using protective measures which include washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, covering your mouth when you cough, avoid touching your face, mouth, and eyes and stay home when you are sick.
