Dear TASIS Community,
As you may now be aware, a few additional cases of coronavirus have been identified in various parts of Switzerland. We are providing an update to share the latest announcements from local and federal health authorities and discuss how we as an institution will address this ongoing situation. Wednesday's Announcements from Local Health Authorities On Wednesday, February 26, the Ticinese cantonal health authorities held another press conference to update the public on the measures and policies relating to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Northern Italy and Switzerland. Below are some key takeaways from the press conference:
The TASIS Response As announced in the communication we sent on Tuesday, we have several measures already in place. In addition to these measures, we want to share the following updates with you. Cold and Flu Season All students will return from Academic Travel and Global Service trips as planned with no travel through Italy. As is typical for this time of year, our students will return to campus with cold and flu symptoms. In fact, we saw a typical amount of cold and flu symptoms on campus before students departed for Academic Travel.
Although some alarm is understandable given the circumstances, it will be important that we remain calm and adhere to the following protocols—provided by our local doctor and our Health Center—when we encounter the typical symptoms we see this time of year.
Daily Temperature Checking Out of an abundance of caution, we will conduct daily temperature checks for all of our students, employees, and visitors beginning on Monday, March 2. It is therefore imperative that all employees and families follow the drop-off and pick-up procedures announced in the important communication we sent last Friday.
A Note on School Closure At this time we plan to remain open as a school. All of our normal attendance policies apply, but of course we will work with individual families as necessary. We are closely following developments in our local community and local and federal guidance on this topic.
As a further measure, due to the possibility of disruption imposed by other countries while traveling, we will restrict all unnecessary travel outside of Switzerland and will continue to avoid travel in northern Italy for the time being.
In the event that the normal school routine is disrupted due to directives by local authorities or other circumstances, we are preparing for the remote delivery of instruction and educational materials. When the school is open for regular instruction and activities, we cannot provide a remote instruction alternative. For any absences, as we typically do, we will provide students with the work they have missed. School Hygiene We have the following updates related to school hygiene:
What You Can Do as a Member of the TASIS Community
Updated Resources Please consult the links below for the latest coronavirus information:
This is, of course, a dynamic situation subject to change as conditions evolve, and we will continue to provide updates as needed. Thanks to all of you for your contributions to the safety and well-being of the TASIS community.
Sincerely,
Christopher Nikoloff TASIS Headmaster |