December
15, 2020
Dear Kindergarten Parents,
The
health and safety of our students, staff and faculty at Our Lady Queen of
Martyrs School as well as across the Archdiocese, is our top priority. We are
committed to ensuring you have all the information you need on COVID-19 as we
continue to navigate this public health emergency together.
As you know you have been informed that your
child may have been exposed to COVID-19 as a member of the Our Lady Queen of
Martyrs Academy community has tested positive for the virus. We are
quickly taking all appropriate action and following rigorous protocols
developed by the Centers for Disease Control, NYS Department of Health, and the
NYC New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health). The CDC
advises that any symptoms of COVID-19 appear between 2 and 14 days from the
date of exposure.
As a potential close contact of the individual who tested positive, NYC Department of Health has informed us that your child is required to quarantine for 14 days since the last date of contact on Friday, December 11, 2020 with the person who tested positive. The quarantine end date is Friday, December 25, 2020. In person learning will resume on Monday, January 4, 2021. You may have been or will be contacted by the Health Department about this quarantine, please answer their calls. Remote learning will be in place for those in quarantine and you will receive information from your child’s teacher.
Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.
Below is important safeguard the health of our school community:
● The Health Department recommends you take your child for a COVID-19 test. Testing is important even if your child does not feel sick because some people with the infection have no symptoms. For information about testing, call your child’s medical provider, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/covidtest. Testing is free at many sites and available regardless of immigration status. Even if the result shows that your child was not infected with the virus on the day of the test, your child must stay home for 14 days while they remain at risk for developing infection.
● Your child can leave home only to visit a medical provider, to get a COVID-19 test or in an emergency. It is important that your child stay home, even if your child does not feel sick, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
● If your child develops symptoms please contact your healthcare provider or in the event of a medical emergency always call 911.
● In rare cases, some children have developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a new health condition associated with COVID-19 that can result in serious illness. Symptoms may include fever lasting several days, red or pink eyes, swollen hands and feet, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, red cracked lips or red bumpy tongue that looks like a strawberry. If your child develops any symptoms contact a medical provider immediately.
● I would encourage you to visit the CDC website www.CDC.gov and NYC DOHMH https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-main.page for additional factual information and resources. It is important to listen to facts and not respond to fear, rumor, innuendo, or social media.
While we have all been diligent in fighting the spread
of the virus, COVID-19 is still active in our communities. Monitoring for
symptoms, staying home when sick, practicing social distancing, washing hands, and
wearing a mask are the critical steps you can take to continue to protect
yourself and our community.
We will continue to
closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively
update you on any measures we are taking.
Sincerely,
Andrew G. Woods, principal
