2/7/20
Dear Parents and Guardians:
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is currently prevalent in the news and is being carefully monitored. Thus, I recently reached out to the Tazewell County Health Department (TCHD), and I was directed to the guidance provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). IDPH's information can be accessed at 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-NCoV). I have included parts of IDPH's information below that describes what the virus is and explains that the current risk to the United States and to Illinois is low. I learned from the TCHD that no known cases of the virus currently exist in Central Illinois. Further, it is believed that the total number of cases in the United States are minimal.
During this flu season, our Head Custodian, Ronda Bryant, has been spearheading the initiative of our custodial team being very thorough and diligent with their daily cleaning and disinfecting procedures. We are grateful for our Custodial Team (Ronda Bryant, Kevin Hegener, John Hale, and Karie Parker). Please continue to encourage your children to wash their hands regularly. While we believe regular, daily school attendance is important, students should not be at school with a fever and/or with flu-like symptoms. Students should be fever-free and/or symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Our Nurse, Tabitha Reeise, works with and supports our students on a daily basis. We appreciate all that she does to help meet the medical needs of our students. Also, Mrs. Reeise is a great resource if you have any questions or concerns. Mrs. Reeise can be reached at 309-346-3182 or treeise@rankin98.org. Thank you for your time and attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
Dr. Matt Gordon, Superintendent
Source credit - IDPH
What is 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)?
2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is a new respiratory virus identified in December 2019 as the cause of an outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. People who get sick with 2019-nCoV develop mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms including fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Illness can begin 2 to 14 days after an exposure. Although this virus likely emerged from an animal source, it can also spread from person-to-person. Spread from one person to another is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Typically, with most respiratory viruses, people are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic.
The latest national situation summary updates, including the number of cases identified in the United States, are available on CDC’s web page 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Wuhan, China. State situation updates can be found at DPH.ILLINOIS.GOV.
What is the health risk from 2019-nCoV in Illinos?
Currently, the health risk to the general public from 2019-nCoV remains low, both in the U.S. and in Illinois. The goal of the ongoing U.S. public health response is to detect new cases quickly and prevent community spread of 2019-nCoV. The coming days and weeks are likely to bring more confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in the U.S. and globally, but strong public health measures now may blunt the impact of the virus.
