GATES MILLS, Ohio — Students from four upper private schools — Hawken, Laurel, Lawrence and University — have been self-quarantined after they attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington D.C. where a member of the delegation tested positive for the coronavirus, or COVID-19, according to a joint news release.
On Monday, school officials learned a member of the delegation who traveled to and from Washignton D.C. on a bus with area students tested positive for coronavirus.
According to a spokesperson for Hawken School, the following students from the four schools have been told to self-quarantine:
- Four Hawken students
- Four University School students
- Five Laurel students
- One Lawrence student
A Hawken School spokesperson told News 5 that the students were in class Monday when they found out the individual who traveled on a bus with them to D.C. tested positive for coronavirus.
Two Shaker Heights High School students were also at the conference and are now also in self-quarantine.
One Beachwood High School student is also staying home from school. Beachwood City Schools would only tell News 5 that the student attended an out of state conference.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health notified families Monday afternoon that any child on the bus should be self-quarantined for 14 days and monitored for any symptoms such as having temperatures above 100.4, respiratory issues and sneezing.
AIPAC held its annual policy conference earlier this week and announced a group of attendees had come in contact with someone infected with coronavirus.
Health officials said parents and siblings of children on the bus do not need to self-quarantine unless the child exhibits symptoms. Faculty members at the schools are working with students remotely to see them through their coursework. In addition, all the schools have redoubled housekeeping efforts on campus, according to a news release. Hawken School has drastically increased cleaning measures and changed cafeteria protocol to remove self-service for food.
All schools are still open at this time. The department of health said there is no reason at this time to close the schools.
Terry Allan, Commissioner, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, hosted an online teleconference with leaders from 90 schools and school districts on March 10.
Allan told News 5 districts will take a wide variety of precautions in suspending or amending events that gather large groups of students together.
“It was all of those things, so it was sporting events, it was spring concerts, they have trips sometimes to Washington D.C.,” Allan said.
“We’re not seeing a lot of kids that are positive right now, we don’t know really the role that kids play with transmission.”
"We are looking at this issue of whether you can transmit if you’re not showing symptoms.”
Allan confirmed additional steps will be taken in figuring out if additional students will have to be quarantined in the coming days.
“Yes we are going to continue that process, I think in the next day or so we’re going to have a better handle on that process,” Allan said.
Parents with any questions or concerns can call the COVID-19 Call Center at 1-833-427-5634 or the Cuyahoga County Board of Health at 216-201-2000.
Read the full letter sent to Hawken parents here.
RELATED: 2 students from Solon High School self-quarantined after exposure to person with coronavirus
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
COVID-19/2019 Novel Coronavirus Overview from the CDC:
“2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV/COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. At this time, it’s unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).”
“When person-to-person spread has occurred with MERS and SARS, it is thought to have happened mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Spread of MERS and SARS between people has generally occurred between close contacts.”
Coronavirus in Ohio:
As of Monday, March 9, there were three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio, all in Cuyahoga County, outside of Cleveland.
According to the governor, two of the cases are from a married couple that went on a cruise on the Nile River.
The other case is from a person that went to the AIPAC conference in Washington D.C. According to a cantor from the Jewish Temple in Beachwood, 160 people from Cleveland attended the conference.
The three patients are between 54 and 56-years-old, according to officials. None of the positive cases have been hospitalized at this time.
READ MORE: Ohio's 3 coronavirus cases are in Cuyahoga County; Gov. DeWine declares state of emergency
From News 5 and affiliated news outlets:
News 5's Coronavirus continuing coverage page
How to prepare your family and pets for COVID-19
EPA releases list of approved disinfectants to use against COVID-19
How to protect yourself from coronavirus when flying
Symptoms
The symptoms of coronavirus are fever and lower respiratory tract issues, such as cough and shortness of breath, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
Travel
Anyone traveling internationally should review plans in advance of their trip, and check the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Information Page for daily updates and travel alerts.
Click here for the CDC COVID-19 Travel Information Page
Practice Good Hygiene
The CCBH recommends the following good hygiene practices to prevent coronavirus, as well as the flu, colds and other illnesses:
- Sneeze or cough into the bend of your elbow to keep germs from spreading
- Regularly wash your hands with soap and water/use alcohol-based hand sanitizer in between
- Don’t share cups, spoons, forks, etc. with anyone
- Don’t make food for anyone if you are sick
- Don’t go to work or school if you are sick
- Visit a doctor, urgent care or emergency department if you are sick – don’t take chances
Please contact your medical provider with any questions.
Guidance for those with compromised immune systems
Click here for specific guidance from the CCBH for anyone at higher risk for becoming ill.
Additional Resources
Cuyahoga County: See the CCBH page on coronavirus here.
Ohio Department of Health:
Click here for the Ohio Department of Health’s Coronavirus information page.
It is updated daily at 2 p.m. with the current number of confirmed cases, persons under investigation and persons under investigation who tested negative for the disease.
More resources from ODH:
Fact sheet
Prevention infographic
Resources and information
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CCBH has created this list of coronavirus-related resources from the CDC:
Homepage for COVID-19 materials and information
Fact sheet – Chinese
Fact sheet – English
Fact sheet – Spanish
Guidance for businesses
Guidance for colleges and universities
Guidance for communities and mass gatherings
Guidance for healthcare facilities
Guidance for healthcare professionals
Guidance for people with elevated risk for illness
Guidance for pregnant women
Guidance for risk assessment
Guidance for schools
Guidance for travelers
What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Chinese
What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – English
What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Spanish
If you are sick with COVID-19 – Chinese
If you are sick with COVID-19 – English
If you are sick with COVID-19 – Spanish
Preventing spread of COVID-19 at election/polling/voting locations
Prevention and treatment
Symptoms – overview
World Health Organization
Coronavirus information
Mythbusters – the truth about food, packages, pets and other things related to COVID-19
Video – What is COVID-19?
Video – What is my risk of getting COVID-19?
Video – How can I protect myself from COVID-19?
