Liberty Elementary School

Dear Parent or Student Guardian,

Over 71,000 thousand children in Sonoma County start back to school this week.  School officials and the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services are providing information to families about what they can do to help prevent the spread of flu. As you know, the flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in all Sonoma County schools. We want to keep the school open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season. But, we need your help to do this.

We expect to see increased cases of flu this fall.  Vaccines will be available to help reduce the number of people who become ill with the flu, but not until later this fall.  For now, we are doing everything we can to keep our schools functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help.

·         Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.

·         Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.

·         Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.  Children or family members at high risk for complications of the flu, such as pregnant women, those with asthma, diabetes, compromised immune systems or neuromuscular diseases should call their health care provider as soon as possible to determine if treatment is needed.

·         Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

·         Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.

·         Vaccinate your child for both the seasonal flu and H1N1 2009 flu when the vaccine becomes available this fall. 

If the flu becomes more severe in your school or around the County, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread such as:

·         Conducting active fever and flu symptom screening of students and staff as they arrive at school,

·         Making changes to increase the space between people such as moving desks farther apart and postponing class trips

·         Increasing the dismissal period for students and staff from school to at least 7 days if they become sick.

·         Closing schools if the situation becomes serious enough that the Public Health Officer authorizes such action.

For more information about the flu go to the Sonoma County Public Health website at www.sonoma-county.org/H1N1 or call the Public Health Information Line at (707) 565-4477.  Information about the flu is also available at www.CDC.gov/H1N1  and www.flu.gov.

We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu.

Joint Letter from the County Public Health Department and County Office of Education

Apreciados Padres o Encargados de Estudiantes:

En el Condado de Sonoma más de 71,000 niños van a regresar a la escuela esta semana.  Los Oficiales de las Escuelas y del Departamento de Servicios de Salud quieren compartir esta información con ustedes y sus familias para que sepan que hacer para ayudarnos a prevenir la transmisión de la influenza. Como ustedes saben, la influenza se puede transmitir muy fácilmente de persona a persona; por lo tanto, estamos tomando las medidas necesarias para reducir la transmisión de la influenza en las escuelas del Condado de Sonoma. Nuestro deseo es que las escuelas se mantengan abiertas y funcionando normalmente para los estudiantes durante la estación de la influenza pero necesitamos su ayuda para lograrlo.

Este otoño esperamos ver un aumento en los casos de influenza. Las vacunas van a ayudar a reducir el número de personas que se van a enfermar con la influenza. Por ahora, estamos haciendo todo lo posible para mantener nuestras escuelas funcionando normalmente y aquí compartimos algunas de las cosas que ustedes pueden hacer para ayudarnos:

·         Enséñele a sus niños a lavarse las manos con frecuencia con agua y jabón o con un desinfectante para las manos a base de alcohol. Usted puede ponerles un buen ejemplo al hacerlo también.

·         Pídale a sus niños que no compartan sus cosas personales como bebidas, comidas o utensilios sucios; a que  cubran su boca con pañuelos desechables cuando estornuden o tosan; a que cubran sus bocas con el codo, brazo o manga en lugar de hacerlo en sus manos cuando estornuden o tosan y no tengan un pañuelo desechable a la mano.

·         Aprendan a reconocer los signos y síntomas de la influenza. Los síntomas de la influenza incluyen fiebre (de 100 grados Fahrenheit, 37.8 grados o más alta), tos, dolor de garganta, secreción y congestión nasal, dolores de cuerpo y de cabeza, y mucho cansancio. Algunas personas también vomitan o tienen diarrea. Los niños o miembros de su familia que tienen un alto riesgo de sufrir complicaciones por la influenza son las mujeres embarazadas, personas con asma, diabetes, con el sistema inmunológico débil o que padecen de enfermedades neuromusculares deben llamar a su proveedor de cuidado médico lo más pronto posible si se enferman para determinar si van a necesitar algún tratamiento.

·         No mande a sus niños a la escuela si están enfermos. A cualquier niño que se determine que está enfermo lo enviarán de vuelta a su casa.

·         Mantenga a los niños enfermos en la casa por lo menos 24 horas después de que se les haya quitado la fiebre siempre y cuando no les hayan dado un medicamento para bajarles la fiebre. Mantener a los niños que tienen fiebre en su casa va a disminuir el número de personas que se contagien con el virus de la influenza.

·         Vacune a su niño contra ambos, el virus de la influenza de la estación y el virus de la influenza H1N1 para el 2009 cuando hayan vacunas disponibles en el otoño. 

Si la influenza se vuelve más grave en su escuela y alrededor del Condado, puede ser que tengamos que tomar medidas adicionales para prevenir su transmisión como:

·         Preguntarle a los estudiantes y al personal escolar como se sienten cuando lleguen a la escuela para saber si tienen fiebre y síntomas de la influenza.

·         Efectuar cambios para aumentar los espacios entre las personas en los salones al mover los escritorios para separarlos más;  y posponer días de excursión.  

·         Aumentar el período de tiempo en que los estudiantes y personal escolar deben permanecer en sus casas y fuera de las escuelas a por lo menos 7 días si se ponen enfermos.

·         Cerrar las escuelas si la situación se convierte en algo tan grave como para que el Oficial de Salud Publica autorice esa acción.

Para más información sobre el virus de la influenza visite el sitio en la red del Salud Pública del Condado de Sonoma en www.sonoma-county.org/H1N1 o llame a la Línea de Información de Salud Publica al (707) 565-4477. Información sobre la influenza también está disponible en http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/espanol/  y http://espanol.pandemicflu.gov

Si hubiera otros cambios adicionales a las estrategias que nuestras escuelas van a implementar para ayudar a prevenir la transmisión de la influenza, se los notificaremos.

Atentamente,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dr. Carl Wong

Superintendente Escolar del Condado de Sonoma