Dear Putnam Valley Families:<\/p>\n
We are passing along the Parent\/Guardian letter prepared by the New York State Department of Health regarding Novel (new) Coronavirus.\u00a0 We participated in a webinar hosted by the Department of Health this afternoon and at this time, there are no cases in New York State.<\/p>\n
We are also sharing a link for information on seasonal influenza.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.health.ny.gov\/diseases\/communicable\/influenza\/seasonal\/childhood_adolescent\/<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you,<\/p>\n Dr. Jeremy Luft<\/p>\n Superintendent of Schools<\/p>\n Dear Parents\/Guardians:<\/p>\n A new coronavirus called 2019 Novel (new) Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first found in Wuhan,<\/p>\n Hubei Province, China. This virus had not been found in humans before. This coronavirus can<\/p>\n lead to fever, cough and trouble breathing or shortness of breath. There are thousands of<\/p>\n diagnosed cases in China and new cases being diagnosed in a number of countries including<\/p>\n the United States.<\/p>\n What do we know?<\/p>\n Since this virus is very new, health authorities continue to carefully watch how this virus<\/p>\n spreads. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working hard to learn as<\/p>\n much as possible about this new virus, so that we can better understand how it spreads and<\/p>\n causes illness. The CDC considers this virus to be a serious public health concern. Based on<\/p>\n current information the CDC recommends avoiding travel to China. Updated travel information<\/p>\n related to 2019\u2010nCoV can be found at<\/p>\n https:\/\/wwwnc.cdc.gov\/travel\/notices\/warning\/novel-coronavirus-china<\/a><\/p>\n How Does 2019 Novel (New) Coronavirus Spread?<\/p>\n Health experts believe the virus probably spreads from animals to humans and from person to<\/p>\n person. It\u2019s not clear yet how easily the virus spreads from person-to-person.<\/p>\n The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) is not currently a concern for the general public and<\/p>\n is not actively circulating among New Yorkers at this time. Therefore, there is no need to cancel<\/p>\n school or social events, and there is no need for students or school staff to wear surgical masks<\/p>\n at school.<\/p>\n Prevention<\/p>\n There are currently no vaccines available to protect against this virus. The New York State<\/strong><\/p>\n Department of Health (DOH) recommends the following ways to minimize the spread of all<\/strong><\/p>\n respiratory viruses, including 2019-nCoV:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.<\/strong> Use an alcohol-<\/p>\n based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.<\/p>\n \u2022 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Avoid close contact with people who are sick.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Stay home when you are sick.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing<\/strong><\/p>\n or sneezing. If you use a tissue, throw it in the trash.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 CDC recommends that travelers avoid all travel to China.<\/p>\n Symptoms<\/p>\n Information to date suggests that 2019-nCoV causes mild-to-moderate illness and symptoms<\/p>\n like the flu, including fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.<\/p>\n Are visitors from China being screened?<\/p>\n Yes, as of February 2nd new screening protocols are conducted for individuals entering the US<\/p>\n from China at designated airports.<\/p>\n PreK-12 schools may have students who attend school and have traveled to various areas in<\/p>\n Asia, including China. Students should not be excluded from school or any school activities<\/p>\n based on race, country of origin, or recent travel (or a family member\u2019s recent travel), including<\/p>\n to any part of China. Schools may only exclude a student if a local health department informs<\/p>\n the school that a student must comply with a quarantine order or the student is symptomatic of a communicable or infectious disease pursuant to Education Law \u00a7906.<\/p>\n Important Health Information for Those Who Have Recently Traveled to Wuhan, Hubei<\/p>\n Province, China and Experience Symptoms<\/p>\n If you recently traveled to Wuhan, China and feel sick with fever, cough or trouble breathing; OR<\/p>\n you develop symptoms within 14 days of traveling there, you should:<\/p>\n \u2022 Seek medical care right away. Call ahead and tell them about your travel and symptoms.<\/p>\n \u2022 Avoid contact with others.<\/p>\n \u2022 Stay home, except for seeking medical care.<\/p>\n \u2022 Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing<\/p>\n or sneezing.<\/p>\n \u2022 Wash hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water<\/p>\n are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60%<\/p>\n alcohol.<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact your local health department.<\/p>\n This is an emerging, rapidly changing situation. For questions please contact your local<\/p>\n department of health or the NYS DOH Novel Coronavirus hotline at 1-888-364-3065.<\/p>\n We encourage you to keep up to date about 2019-nCoV, its treatment and prevention by visiting the following websites:<\/p>\n Additional Resources<\/p>\n CDC\u2019s dedicated 2019-nCoV website at https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nCoV<\/a>.<\/p>\n NYSDOH\u2019s dedicated 2019-nCoV website at<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.health.ny.gov\/diseases\/communicable\/coronavirus\/<\/a><\/p>\n NYSDOH directory of local health departments<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.health.ny.gov\/contact\/contact_information\/<\/a><\/p>\n New York State Center for School Health website at www.schoolhealthny.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Putnam Valley Families: We are passing along the Parent\/Guardian letter prepared by the New York State Department of Health regarding Novel (new) Coronavirus.\u00a0 We participated in a webinar hosted by the Department of Health this afternoon and at this time, there are no cases in New York State. We are also sharing a link… Continue Reading Information from NYS Dept. Of Health-No cases of coronavirus in NYS at this time<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-7337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-superintendent","tag-covid19","clearfix"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7337"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7339,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7337\/revisions\/7339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLetter prepared by New York State Department of Health-<\/h3>\n