DESE, county health department offer tips to prevent coronavirus

In response to several questions about the novel coronavirus — COVID-19 — the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released preventative information Thursday elementary and secondary schools should know about the virus.

Roughly 60 people in Missouri have been evaluated for the virus, according to DESE, but no cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the state.

DESE is in communication with the Department of Health and Senior Services to keep local education agencies informed about the virus, according to DESE. DHSS recommends the same preventative measures for COVID-19 as they do to reduce the spread of influenza: regular handwashing, staying home when sick, covering the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and cleaning or disinfecting frequently touched objects or classroom surfaces.

Staff or students returning to Missouri after traveling to China will be required to be monitored by public health officials, according to DHSS. The monitoring and potential isolation will impact staff and students’ ability to return to school for a period of time, a DHSS release stated. Schools may be asked to work with families in isolation to provide makeup assignments so students do not fall behind on coursework.

“We are in the middle of flu and respiratory disease season, and most of the population is at greater risk of contracting seasonal influenza than coronavirus,” according to the DHSS statement.

According to DHSS, experts are still learning the range of illness from COVID-19, and reported cases have ranged from mild illness to severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization. So far, DHSS stated, deaths have been reported mainly in older adults with preexisting health conditions.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and difficulty breathing, DHSS stated, and those who have been diagnosed have reported symptoms appearing in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.

On Friday, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center released an update on COVID-19. Autumn Grim, project coordinator, said her biggest piece of advice is for people to wash their hands.

“Washing your hands is probably the biggest preventive method,” Grim said. “Also, practice social distancing from ill people. Stay home when you’re sick. But hand-washing is important.”

Grim said as of Friday, no positive cases of COVID-19 had been identified in Missouri.

“Some individuals across the state have been tested, but we have not had any positives,” Grim said.

The question she’d heard the most Friday was whether it’s safe to open packages from China.

“Yes,” Grim said. “All of the data we have suggests the virus does not survive long on dry surfaces, so any package you’d get from China is safe to open.”

For more information, visit health.mo.gov/coronavirus or contact the DHSS Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at (573) 751-6113 or (800) 392-0272.