But she says day trips, and field trips in Maryland will be allowed.
Frederick, Md (KM). During Wednesday’s Frederick County School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Theresa Alban explained her decision to cancel all overnight ,out-of-state travel for students due to the coronavirus. “We’ll still allowing field trips within the state of Maryland, and day trips,”: she said.
Dr. Alban sais the situation regarding the coronavirus could change from low risk to high risk while students are out of town, and getting them home safely could be a problem. All of that figured into her decision. “Trips that are only a day long, it’s very easy as the bus is driving up there as thing change to call and say ‘turn around and come right back,'” she said. “So we felt like we had more control on these day trips that are scheduled.”
She said her decision followed the Governor’s decision prohibiting state employees from traveling out of state.
As for other activities, “we do not know the status of graduation right now. We are assuming all systems are go until we are told otherwise by the Health Department, and we will continue to monitor and update,” she said.
The School System is working very closely with the Health Department, keeping up to date on the coronavirus situation.
As for whether schools will close in the future to minimize the spread of coronavirus, Dr. Alban says that decision won’t be made entirely by the School System. “Since this is a public health issue, the guidance to close anything or cancel meetings comes through the Health Department. We work in collaboration.. We talk through things. But, again, they are the experts and we are taking our guidance from them,” she says.
The most common advice in protecting yourself from the coronavirus is still frequent handwashing. “Soap and water are the most effective prevention tool that we have,” says Dr. Alban. “Hand sanitizer is a backup plan when soap and water are not available. And it doesn’t matter if it has alcohol in it or not, it’s a backup plan. It will do a decent job. But soap and water are your best bet.”
And she says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “Please avoid having children wear masks to school. Sometime kids look at them and think they are sick and it can cause an issue in how they interact with their peers,”: says Dr. Alban. “It can also frighten some children.”
By Kevin McManus