The Northern Kentucky Health Department continues to be actively engaged in monitoring and preparation efforts related to the COVID-19 illness.  This includes ongoing partnership with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, CDC, local officials, and school districts.   

Our schools deal with outbreaks of illness on a regular basis, such as the flu outbreak that closed many districts this winter. While the coronavirus is new, the same procedures we use during flu outbreaks can be of use during this time.  

We want to encourage our families to partner with us in steps to prevent the spread of illness:

• Stay home when you are sick.  If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick.  You will help prevent others from catching your illness.  Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.  Germs spread this way.  Encourage your children to do the same. 
• Cover coughs and sneezes.  Use a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes, then dispose of the tissue.  Cough or sneeze into your elbow if a tissue is not available. 
• Clean and disinfect surfaces or objects.  Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces especially when someone is ill. 
• WASH YOUR HANDS FOR 20 SECONDS!  If you cannot wash your hands, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60-95% alcohol. 
• Get your Flu shot if you have not already.

We will continue to disinfect high contact areas, monitor students and staff for signs of illness and send home when appropriate.  Students sent home with a fever should not return to school until they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.  Behavior is also a reliable indicator of the severity of illness.  If your student is unable to participate in normal, daily, school activities due to illness, even without fever, they may need to stay home. 

Together, we can help protect our families, our communities, and ourselves.  We will continue to be in communication with the Kentucky Department of Education and our Northern Kentucky Health Department as necessary and will pass along any pertinent information we receive.  More information may be found at this link:  https://nkyhealth.org/individual-or-family/health-alerts/coronavirus/ .

Thank you.