Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. officials are preparing for the possibility that the new coronavirus could spread locally when classes resume after spring break on March 23.
BCSC has formed an internal team that has been monitoring the global outbreak and has met regularly to prepare contingency plans in the event that a student, staff member or their household relatives test positive for the virus, including potentially closing a building or the entire school corporation, holding e-learning days and cancelling extracurricular activities or sporting events depending on the circumstances, said BCSC Superintendent Jim Roberts.
The total number of confirmed cases of the virus, known as COVID-19, in Indiana increased to 10 on Wednesday after the Indiana State Department of Health confirmed four new cases, including three in neighboring Johnson County. Other cases have been reported in Marion, Hendricks, Boone, Howard, Nobel and Adams counties.
One of the cases in Hendricks County was detected in an elementary school student enrolled at Hickory Elementary School in Avon, according to The Associated Press.
The Avon Community School Corp. later closed all schools until March 20 after a second student started exhibiting symptoms of the illness to “minimize any exposure in large groups and will allow plenty of time to have all buildings and buses cleaned,” according to a statement on the school corporation’s website.
As of Wednesday, there were no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in Bartholomew County, said Columbus Regional Health spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
“As we’ve looked at this (outbreak) over the last couple of weeks, we have realized that if we were to have a student, staff member or family member (test positive), it’s possible that we would have to close either a building or the entire school corporation based upon the circumstances for a period of time,” Roberts said. “That period of time is still to be determined, but the time frame that has been cited the most often as a possibility is 14 days. …Before we make any closing decision, whether it be a single building or the entire corporation, we would be in close contact with our local public health officials and also the Indiana State Department of Health to understand the current circumstances.”
The spread of the virus has prompted many state and school officials around the United States to close or limit gatherings or events that could increase the likelihood of community spread.
On Tuesday, officials at Indiana University announced that all their campuses, including IUPUC, would suspend in-person classes for two weeks following spring break, instead holding classes in remote online settings, according to statements from the universities.
A short time later, Purdue University followed suit, moving all its courses to online or alternative delivery by March 23 and possibly continuing to the end of the semester, which is May 2.
Additionally, residents are “strongly discouraged” from visiting any IU campus until April 5, according to a statement released Tuesday.
BCSC officials are urging staff members, students and their families to reconsider non-essential travel during spring break, which starts today and runs through March 22, and follow federal and state health guidelines for travel and prevention of disease transmission.
The school corporation has asked its staff members and family members of its student body to self-report any planned international travel during spring break in an online questionnaire, according to a statement released in English and Spanish on Tuesday.
Additionally, BCSC is requiring individuals who travel to countries designated as a Level 3 risk by the federal Centers for Disease Control to self-quarantine for 14 days upon return. Individuals who travel to Level 1 and 2 countries or travel on cruise ships may be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Currently, Level 3 countries include China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, according to the CDC’s website. Japan is listed as a Level 2 country, and Hong Kong is listed as Level 1 destination. The CDC designations, however, could change as the outbreak evolves.
“Spring break brings its set of challenges because we do have people that are going to be much more out and about than they were last week,” Roberts said. “It naturally results in more travel, which means more opportunities for exposure and that does bring a level of concern as to what we might have after spring break.”
If a student were to report experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 while at a school nurse’s office, the nurse would contact Kelli Thompson, BCSC’s director of health services, and the student would be isolated while school officials work with parents to have the child taken to a health care provider, who would decide whether the child needs to be tested for the virus, Roberts said.
If the student were to test positive for COVID-19, BCSC would, among other things, hold an immediate cabinet meeting, notify the school board and work with local and state health officials to determine appropriate action, Roberts said.
So far, BCSC officials have not canceled extracurricular activities or sporting events, but are actively monitoring the situation, Roberts said.
“These are things we are paying attention to,” he said. “…Right now, within the state of Indiana, we have not canceled any travel plans of our students.”
On Wednesday, BCSC officials sent home laptops with students in grades 1 to 12 in case e-learning measures are put in place after spring break.
“We are prepared to clean our facilities completely in an instance where it has been determined that we’ve had somebody, perhaps, in our building that has been confirmed to have the virus,” Roberts said. “But additionally, daily, we are taking additional precautions to be as clean as we possibly can be with our buildings and we are continuing to encourage all of us as individuals to practice the preventive measures that have been touted by the Centers for Disease Control.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”BCSC statements” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
For more information about BCSC’s statement on spring break travel and on the request for students to take electronic devices home, visit bcscschools.org.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to learn more” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The state Department of Health said it plans to update its new “COVID-19 online dashboard” each day at 10 a.m. to reflect the findings from additional test results. For more, visit: https://on.in.gov/COVID19.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Local information on COVID-19″ ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Columbus and Bartholomew County officials have created a site on the Bartholomew County website where information will be shared about coronavirus, at bartholomew.in.gov/emergency-management.html#covid-19.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
