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Good Morning
Families,
As we have all heard
in the news there are some minor cases of the coronavirus around, so to
ensure the safety and health of all children, please read the attached
precautionary advice from the Australian Government Department of
Education.
Please do
NOT
send your children to school or child care in the following cases:
-
Feeling unwell (fever, runny nose, cough, shortness of
breath cold type symptoms)
-
Traveled to China in the past few months, or come into
contact with anyone from this region unless they have passed
the advised 2 week incubation period upon return and are
well enough to attend with a Doctors certification clearing
them.
Please see the attached document for more information.
We will also be conducting temperature checks if your child
presents unwell to ensure the health, safety and care of our children
and educators as our first priority.
Novel
coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Information for
Parents
An
outbreak
of novel
coronavirus
(2019-nCoV)
was
detected
in
Wuhan,
Hubei Province,
China in late
December
2019.
Exclusion from
School or
Early Childhood
Centres
If
you
have been
informed
by Public
Health
authorities
that
your
child
is a close
contact
of a confirmed
case of the
novel
coronavirus
(2019-nCoV),
even if they
don’t
have symptoms,
they cannot attend
school or
childcare
until Public
Health
informs
you
that
it is safe
for
them to
do so.
If
your
child has recently
travelled
to
mainland
China
and has developed
symptoms
(listed
below),
contact your usual
doctor
for
assessment who
will
liaise
with
Public
Health authorities
and determine
whether or not
your
child
needs
to
be excluded
from
school
or child
care.
If
your
child has recently
travelled
to mainland
China
and has
not
developed
any
of the symptoms
(listed
below), they
may attend
their school
or early
childhood
centre
and
should
not
be excluded.
What is this virus?
Coronaviruses
can
make
humans
and animals
sick. Some coronaviruses
can
cause illness
similar
to
the common
cold and others can cause more
serious
diseases, including
Severe
Acute Respiratory
Syndrome
(SARS)
and
Middle East
respiratory
syndrome (MERS).
The virus originating
in Hubei
Province,
China
is called
‘novel’
because it is new.
It had
not been detected before
this outbreak.
Most
people
infected
live in,
or travelled
to,
Hubei Province,
China.
There have
been
cases
of
2019-nCoV
reported
in other Chinese
provinces
and
other
countries.
It is likely
that
the
virus originally
came from
an
animal,
and there
is now evidence
that
it can spread
from
person-to-person.
What are the
symptoms?
Symptoms
include
(but are
not limited
to) fever, cough, sore
throat,
fatigue
and
shortness
of breath.
What if my child
is sick now or
within
14 days of
being in Hubei
Province?
If
your
child develops
mild
symptoms:
Novel coronavirus
(nCoV)
-
keep your child at home and do
not send them to school or child care;
-
call your usual doctor or
local hospital and tell them your child may have novel
coronavirus infection; and
-
when you get to the doctor’s
clinic or hospital, tell them again that your child may have
novel coronavirus.
If
your child
has serious
symptoms
such
as shortness
of breath
-
call
000 and ask
for an
ambulance;
and
-
tell
the
paramedic
that
your
child
may have
novel
coronavirus
infection.
-
your
doctor
will
test
your
child for
2019-nCoV
and provide
advice
on
management.
You
will also
be
contacted
by Public
Health
officers
who
will
provide
you
with
more
information.
Students
with
symptoms should
be excluded
from attending schools
and
early childhood
centres
until symptoms
have
resolved.
If they
have
been diagnosed
with 2019-CoV
they should
not attend
school or
childcare
until they
are cleared
by public health
authorities.
If
students have
other respiratory
illness
(i.e.
flu), they
should not
attend school
irrespective
of
whether there is a concern
about nCoV.
How
can I
help prevent the spread
of
2019-nCoV?
-
teach
and encourage your children to wash their hands often with
soap and water before and after eating as well as after
attending the toilet;
-
avoid
contact with others by keeping children home if they are
unwell;
-
teaching children to cough and sneeze into their elbow; and
-
while
it’s not possible to avoid touching, kissing, and hugging
children, parents and guardians should do their best to
follow these steps too.
Where can
I get
more information?
Visit
the Australian
Government Department
of Health
homepage
at
www.health.gov.au
Call the
Public
Health
Information
Line
on 1800
044 599.
Contact
your
state
or
territory
public
health agency:
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