Update on COVID-19

Gibbon Public Schools continues to deploy precautionary measures designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students and staff are still required to properly wear masks as they enter the facility and throughout the entire school day. In addition, we will continue to use hand sanitizers as students enter the facility and when they enter each classroom. Wearing masks and using hand sanitizers are two of the most important strategies proven to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there have been a couple of changes based on what we learned through the CDC and NSAA Guidelines.

Recent information from CDCs points to the following:

1. CDC does not currently recommend schools conduct symptom screening for all students in grades K-12 on a routine basis.
2. Parents, caregivers, or guardians should be strongly encouraged to monitor their children for symptoms of infectious illness every day through home-based symptom screening.
3. Students who are sick should not attend school in-person.

Addressing the first point, Gibbon Public Schools will discontinue the practice of temperature checks at the beginning of the school day, but we will apply hand sanitizer as students enter the facility. The district still plans to conduct temperature checks during lunch. The primary reasons are connected to a recent study on symptom screening in schools shared by the CDC. That study found certain limitations with COVID-19 symptom screening. Below is information taken directly from the CDC website and can be found by clicking on the following link - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/symptom-screening.html

• The effectiveness of COVID-19 symptom screening in schools is not well known. A recent study found that symptom screening that evaluated for all known COVID-19 symptoms and was conducted by health professionals in a hospital setting failed to identify nearly half (45%) of all pediatric patients infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, and 40% of those with COVID-19 symptoms did not have the virus that causes it. This means schools still need to implement other mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 (such as those described in Operating Schools during COVID-19) even if symptom screening is used.
• Symptom screening will fail to identify some students who have the virus that causes COVID-19. Symptom screening cannot identify people with the virus that causes COVID-19 who are asymptomatic (do not have symptoms) or pre-symptomatic (have not developed signs or symptoms yet but will later). Others might have symptoms that are so mild that they might not notice them. Children infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 are more likely than adults to be asymptomatic or to have only mild symptoms. The exact percentage of children infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 who are asymptomatic is still unknown, but recent large studies have suggested that around 16% of infected children do not develop symptoms. This means that even if schools attempt to screen for all known COVID-19 symptoms, asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic students with the virus will not be identified and could potentially pass it to others.
• Symptom screening will identify only that a person might be sick, not that the person necessarily has COVID-19. There is no symptom or set of symptoms that occur only in children diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Many symptoms of COVID-19 are also symptoms of common illnesses like cold and flu. For example, fever and cough are the most common symptoms reported in children with COVID-19 and are present with many infections. The overlap between symptoms of COVID-19 and other common infectious illnesses means that some people with COVID-19 symptoms could have something else. This could be true even more often in young children because they typically have multiple viral illnesses each year.
• Students with chronic conditions like asthma or allergies might have symptoms such as cough or nasal congestion without having an infectious illness. Children with other chronic illnesses such as those that affect the stomach or intestines (e.g., Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome) might also experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea that can be confused with symptoms of COVID-19. For many students with chronic medical conditions, symptoms might reoccur frequently throughout the year.
• Because many COVID-19 symptoms are present in other illnesses, symptom screenings have the potential to exclude students from school repeatedly even though they do not have COVID-19 or another contagious illness, particularly when those screenings evaluate for multiple or all known COVID-19 symptoms.

We also have recent guidelines issued by Nebraska Schools Activities Association (NSAA) outlines the following:

FOR ALL WINTER ACTIVITIES:

The NSAA is requiring the following of schools, officials, and spectators for all winter season contests: 

• Active participants are permitted, but not required, to wear face coverings during competition/performance.
• Coaches and non-active participants (those not currently on the court, mat or stage) are required to wear face coverings at all times. Cheer and dance are considered non-active participants.
• Spectators are required to wear face coverings at all times while attending indoor events.
• Face coverings must cover the nose and mouth.
• The host school may establish additional requirements in consultation with local health departments. Additional requirements implemented by the host school must be the same for all schools, officials, judges, and spectators.

The host school shall comply with the current directed health measure (DHM), mitigate risk, and provide adequate opportunities for physical distancing procedures for the visiting schools, officials, judges, and all spectators.

Recommended protocols for winter contest hosts:

• Restricted attendance/seating areas based on current DHM.
• Require 6 feet of physical distance between household groups in stands and spectator areas.
• Create separate points of entry and seating for home and visitor teams/spectators.
• Provide no concession stands or separate/multiple concession stands for home and visitor spectators.
• Provide separate/multiple restrooms for home and visitor spectators.
• Use signage, stanchions, or floor markings to ensure physical distancing of 6 feet at concession stands and restrooms.
• Communicate the availability of locker room space for the opposing team and officials to maintain 6 feet of physical distance.
• Implement diligent and effective cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Here is a link to the winter guidelines: https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/covid/2020WinterGuidance.pdf

In response to the winter guidelines, Gibbon Public Schools will limit the number of spectators to no more than 25% of the current capacity. The following groups may be given access to the facility:

1. The coaches and their spouses (athletic contests).
2. The sponsors and their spouses (activities such as cheerleaders, one-act play, etc.)
3. The employees of Gibbon Public Schools and their spouses.
4. The participants and their parents.
5. The team managers, statisticians, and other event personnel.
6. The cheerleaders from both teams and their parents.
7. The Shimmers and their parents.
8. The event personnel and officials.
9. The students of Gibbon Public Schools. This will be determined prior to each event or activity.

Masks will be required as spectators enter the building and throughout the entire time they attend an activity or event.

Please go to our website for more information about COVID-19.