Schools remain open, events canceled
Whitefish schools will remain open, though some upcoming events have been canceled due to the coronavirus.
The Whitefish School District announced today that after Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt met with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and the Flathead City-County Health Department, the determination was made not to close schools, according to a release.
Though the only case of the virus have to be detected in Montana is of a resident who contracted the illness in a different state and has not returned to Montana, only 55 people have been tested as communities around the country wait for more availability of testing kits.
Moving forward, the district has canceled or postponed:
A school board work session on March 17 Mully Night on March 19
Middle School Honor Band Festival on March 19
Spring Sports Kickoff on March 19
The Little Guy Wrestling Tournament from March 20 to March 21
The Varsity Band trip to Disneyland in April
The DECA trip to Nashville in April.
Saturday night’s high school prom will proceed as normal on the advice of the Flathead City-County Health Department.
According to the district, Flathead Valley schools will continue to evaluate nonessential large group gatherings in order to slow the rate of people getting sick. This is known as “flattening the curve” and helps to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system in a short time span.
The district is also making recommendations for spring break travel, which fall in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.
The CDC currently recommends all travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China, Iran, South Korea and Europe.
Updates to the CDC’s recommendations are posted at www.cdc.gov.
Any staff or student returning from a CDC-designated Level 3 location will be required to stay home for two weeks upon returning to the U.S.
The school district is also asking families to fill out a Parent Home Technology Survey to determine student access to technology outside of school.
In the event that a case of coronavirus is confirmed in a Flathead Valley school, the district says the plan is to work with the lead local health official and close the impacted school for a minimum of three days, which will give health officials and staff time to assess the exposure, clean the schools, and create time for the school to prepare for possible virtual learning or take-home work.
The virus was first detected in China and has been found in almost 70 locations around the world including the United States. As of March 13, there were a total of 1,629 cases of the virus reported in 46 states in the U.S. and a total of 41 deaths resulting from the virus nationwide. A total of 457 cases have been reported in Washington state.
The virus spreads between people in close contact through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
The CDC recommends that facemasks be used by people who show symptoms of the virus to help prevent the spread of the disease to others and by health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings.
For more information, visit https://flatheadhealth.org/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/ or call (406) 751-8188.
For school-specific related inquiries, call (406) 862-8640.