Merced County schools end classes, taking coronavirus precautions
All schools in Merced County’s 20 school districts shut down classes Thursday – four days after education leaders decided to take precautionary measures needed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Critical to the districts’ plan is drive-thru and walk-up meal services to feed the thousands of children who will still depend on the daytime meal services that schools offer. Schools are not slated to reopen until April 20.
Staff at Merced City School District and other districts spent Wednesday gearing up for the massive closures by preparing packaged meals. Everything must be packaged in a clean, controlled environment. All packages are expected to be transported to school sites and ready to go Thursday morning.
“We are serving 13,000 meals a day already, so this is crucial that we continue to do that,” said Joey Horta, spokesperson for the Merced City School District. Horta said his school district will be serving prepared breakfast and lunch at 18 campuses.
Richard “Al” Rogers, superintendent of Merced City School District, said educators realized that without school meals, students would be cut off from a key part of their support system.
“We’re doing our best to create a system that we think will work, but we’re also planning flexibility,” said Rogers. “So we know that we’re going to learn a little bit more every single day about what works well for kids and families and what doesn’t work so well and we’re planning on being adaptive.”
Nathan Quevedo, spokesman for Merced County Office of Education, on Wednesday said every school district has a meal plan in place. Any students age 18 or younger as well as adult students in the MCOE Special Education Program, will be able to receive a meal from any location, regardless of which school district they reside in.
According to the MCOE website, children must be present to receive the meal. To assist parents and students, MCOE has created an online map at mcoe.org/covid19 to help find a location to pick up meals. According to the map, in some areas of the county, breakfast and lunch can be picked up at students’ designated bus stop, at the scheduled morning pick-up times.
“The health and safety of our students and school communities across the county is our top priority,” Quevedo said. “So we created a Google map with the different school meal closure programs sites across the county. They will differ by school districts, some school districts have drive-thru or pick-up – a grab and go. Other more rural school districts may have a bus drop off on the regular bus route.”
Serving school meals won’t be the only activities taking place during the closures. For example, at the Merced Union High School District, from March 23 to April 23 campuses will be under a “hard close.” During that time, staff who provide essential services will be the only personnel on campus.
Meanwhile, custodians will be working to clean and disinfect campuses – a plan approved by Merced County’s Department of Public Health, according to Alan Peterson, MUHSD superintendent.
During the hard close, all school sites will be fully alarmed and monitored 24 hours a day, according to Peterson.
Absences this week
Schools were open Monday through Wednesday this week to give school districts a chance to plan for drive-thru meal services.
Around 62 percent of students in the Merced City School District, which includes mostly elementary and middle schools, were absent Tuesday, Horta said.
On Wednesday, about 75 percent were absent throughout Merced City School District, which has just over 11,000 students.
Absentee rates in the Merced Union High School District, which has more than 10,000 students total:
On Wednesday, 1,124 out of 1,871 students at Atwater High were absent; 1,393 students out of 1,859 students at Buhach Colony were absent; 1,253 out of 1,682 students at El Capitan were absent; 1,235 out of 1,810 students at Golden Valley were absent; 787 out of 1,199 Livingston High students were absent; and 1,175 out of 1,673 Merced High students were absent, according to Sam Yniguez, district spokesperson.
School officials said attendance was optional for most districts Monday through Wednesday, as many parents did not feel safe sending their children, given the threat of coronavirus.
As of Wednesday, Merced County had not reported any confirmed coronavirus infections.
Local residents can also sign up for coronavirus updates from Merced County at countyofmerced.com/coronavirus.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
The World Health Organization has officially declared the spread the novel coronavirus as a pandemic, and the virus is spreading in the United States, particularly on the West Coast.
Officials are urging people to take precautions to avoid getting sick, and to avoid spreading the disease including social distancing.
Click the drop-down icon in the upper right of this card for more information on symptoms and how to stop its spread.
What is coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children. But, this outbreak is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus that has spawned a new disease called COVID-19. This infection can cause a particularly harsh respiratory condition and can lead to death in older individuals and those with underlying health problems.
The CDC believes the COVID-19 virus spreads among humans by person-to-person contact, including via cough and sneezing. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people. Social distancing of 6ft is recommended for everyone.
For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms?
Corona means crown, and the virus has little spikes that help it attach to your respiratory system. Symptoms are similar to the flu and include congestion, coughing, shortness of breath and a runny nose. But, it can worsen causing pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.
How can I stop the spread of the coronavirus?
How does it spread?
We’re still learning about this infection. Things are changing constantly. The spread seems to be from bigger droplets, coughing, sneezing on your hands and then touching your eyes, your nose or mouth. The influenza virus can last on surfaces for 24 hours. For this virus, we are still learning how long it can last but it may be as long as 48 to 72 hours.
And what you can do to help stop the spread:
Practice social distancing, and definitely stay home if you’re ill. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and cover your coughs and sneezes.
If you develop symptoms similar to the coronavirus, you should stay home from work or school and avoid contact with others. It can take up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus to develop symptoms.
Taking precautions is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus. For more on how it spreads, watch this video.
Note: No public health agency has recommended that the general public wear masks to stave off infection. Here are more public health recommendations:
- Practice social distancing
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If you really can’t get to soap and water, then use a hand sanitizer that has at least 60 percent alcohol.
- Can’t wash your hands right away? Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes as these are areas where the pathogens can invade your body.
- Practice cough hygiene with covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, either using a disposable tissue or into your clothed elbow. Throw used tissues in the trash right away.
- If you are sick, stay at home. If you develop respiratory symptoms contact your doctor for advise and to determine if you need to go for care or viral testing. Call ahead before seeing medical care at a doctor’s office, clinic or emergency department, as they’ll need to separate you to help protect others.
- ChrisAnna Mink, Modesto Bee, and McClatchy staff
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Merced County schools end classes, taking coronavirus precautions."