The Colleton County School District, in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Center for Disease Control, continues to carefully monitor emerging outbreaks of illness that could impact the region. As part of this partnership, district officials have been receiving regular updates on the emergence of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States.
At this time, six cases of coronavirus have been reported in South Carolina, as well as Georgia and North Carolina.
CCSD is taking the following actions to help protect our schools from an outbreak:
• Reminding our students and staff members to wash their hands frequently and practice proper respiratory etiquette.
• Asking parents to keep students with respiratory illness symptoms at home.
• Monitoring the number of reported absences at our facilities, and then notifying local health officials if a sudden increase in student or staff absences begins to occur.
• Immediately isolating students and staff members that show symptoms of a respiratory illness, and then sending them to their homes as soon as possible.
• Using hospital-grade disinfectants proven to kill coronavirus and influenza virus to clean our facilities.
• Making sure all schools have antibacterial products on hand for their students and staff members.
In case of a local outbreak of coronavirus, CCSD will:
• Immediately inform all stakeholders through multiple information channels and provide information on our next steps and recommendations on how to prevent the spread of the virus.
• Coordinate student handwashing and use all resources available to clean any hard surfaces, doorknobs, and desks in our facilities.
• Cancel extracurricular activities.
• In the case of a severe outbreak, close schools.
If our school district remains closed for an extended period of time due to a community-wide outbreak of coronavirus, CCSD will make every effort to continue providing educational programming for our students.
According to the CDC and SCDHEC, the best ways to avoid contracting coronavirus and other contagious diseases are:
• Avoid close contact with people when they are sick, and staying home when you are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
For more information on the coronavirus, please visit the CDC and SCDHEC websites. CCSD will continue to share updates on its response to the spread of coronavirus on its website.
