With cases of coronavirus officially reported in both Georgia and North Carolina, it's not surprising to see Greenville County Schools (GCS) preparing for the disease potentially spreading to the upstate.
The latest update on the Center for Disease Control's website said there are still no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina.
GCS still decided best to plan for the possibility, however, and released a plan for a response in the event of a confirmed upstate case.
Evidence has shown grade school children to be least at risk for the disease, and GCS echoed this on their web page explaining their response plan.
Washing your hands and avoiding people who express symptoms of being sick are the best ways to avoid getting sick yourself.
But in the event of any cases in the Upstate, depending on the severity, GCS has stated its plan on their website:
- Increased communications about keeping symptomatic students home;
- To coordinated student handwashing and increased cleaning of hard surfaces such as doorknobs and desks;
- To cancellation of extra-curricular events;
- Up to and including school closure.
- Distance learning and Google Classroom would figure prominently into plans for secondary students and older elementary students, while those in primary grades (PK-2) might be provided printable exercises to hone their numeracy and literacy skills. Knowing that students in primary grades may not have access to technology and many older students do not live in homes with internet connectivity, these plans would require individualized solutions for some students. Our ability to provide those individualized solutions would depend, in part, on the restrictions put in place by DHEC through the Emergency Health Powers Act. The full impact of such a scenario cannot fully be known ahead of time.
GCS also stated that if any students or staff are confirmed with a case of coronavirus, all parents will be informed immediately along with recommendations for how to respond.
