Parent Safety Tips and Facts

Recent media coverage of the Enterovirus (none reported in Garden City) gives us increased motivation to review universal precautions and best health practices to manage or avoid these health risks.  

Please reflect on the following action steps to help prevent the spread of illness. Take these steps all the time, and not only during a flu or virus season, to help keep students and yourself from getting sick.

• Educate and encourage others to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze. Also, provide them with easy access to tissues.

• Remind others to cover coughs or sneezes using their elbow instead of their hand when a tissue is not available.

• Remind others to practice good hand hygiene and provide the time and supplies (easy access to running water and soap or alcohol-based hand cleaners) for them to wash their hands as often as necessary.

• Be a good role model by practicing good hand hygiene and covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

• Keep an eye out for others who maybe sick and encourage them to get further evaluation. Sick people should stay at home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).

• Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact such as desks, door knobs, keyboards, or pens, with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas.

• Adults, parents and teachers, should also stay home when sick. Stay home until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).

• Plan ahead for child care if your child gets sick and assist your child with completing any missed school work. 

(Excerpted and adapted from CDC recommendations for flu and virus prevention.)