Editor’s note: Our communities have the power to lessen the impact of this bold, hyper-contagious virus. We are at war with a non-living thing that will harm us, ONLY IF IT ENTERS A LIVING CELL. Let’s work to prevent that from happening. Think like…a crime-fighting strategist, a military commando, or an uber-hypochondriac. This article offers ways to do that.
Illinois Department of Public Health and Governor J. B. Pritzker’s Office have taken aggressive measures to reduce and slow the spread of the coronavirus in Illinois. These decisions have been challenging, but your regional Health Departments believe they will help limit the spread of the virus in our communities and keep our residents safe. We anticipate increased positive tests of COVID-19 in our region, the State, and the Nation. We have decided to expand our regional proactive approach of community mitigation strategies.
“Community mitigation” is a set of actions that persons and communities can take, to help slow the spread of respiratory virus infections. There is currently no vaccine or treatment available at this time. So, we feel this is an appropriate and measured response to prevent and contain any further spread of COVID-19. At least through March 30, 2020, we need the public to take the following actions seriously and employ steps to disrupt disease transmission. At this point, it is time to scale up our efforts.
Therefore, the regional Health Departments of Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Lee, Stephenson, and Whiteside Counties recommend enhanced community mitigation to minimize the number of additional cases.
Residents are to limit all non-essential movement outside of their homes.
Daycare Centers are not considered public gatherings. However, additional recommendations will be implemented to limit the transmission of COVD-19 in the community by daycares, effective Wednesday, March 18. These recommendations include
- suspending all before-school and after-school care programs, consistent with the Governor’s Directive regarding school closures.
- posting signage outside the entrance of the facility to restrict entrance for anyone with illness.
- communication with families and staff that exclusion criteria for illness will be strictly enforced.
- checking all daycare staff for fever at the beginning of their work period. Also, daycare centers must maintain records of monitoring.
- monitoring children daily for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath.)
- excluding any staff or child with sign/symptoms of COVID-19 from the daycare setting.
- promptly isolating any staff or child with symptoms and using a face/procedure mask for that staff/child, if available. If the child cannot tolerate a face/procedure mask, the staff that is assigned to them should wear the face/procedure mask. Limit the staff to one (1:1) to care for isolated children.
- keeping children in the same group with the same staff every day, including meal, snack, rest, and play periods.
- staggering drop-offs and pick-ups, to avoid crowding of children and parents/guardians in confined spaces.
- limiting parents/guardians to one per child during drop-off and pick-up times.
- prohibiting all outside visitors to the daycare for activities regardless of their security clearance. This does not apply to maintenance/repair workers. However, a log is to be maintained of all outside visitors by date/time, to include that person’s name, phone, cell, and email.
- monitoring and enforcing strict hand hygiene among all staff and children.
- teaching children to sneeze and/or cough into their sleeves.
For additional information, please see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schoolsfaq.html./a>.
For agencies and businesses that remain open:
- implement policies that allow flexibility for employees who are parents, including limited hours, paid time off, teleworking, and/or closure as feasible.
- actively encourage sick employees to stay home. Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.
- take aggressive steps to clean facilities several times a day. Steps should be taken to clean door knobs, areas on a door where people touch, countertops accessible to customers, and any other area open to the public. It is thought that this new strain of Coronavirus can live on surfaces for several days.
For more information go to IDPH and CDC websites, http://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus and https://www.cdc.gov/COVID19. For business information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html.
For general questions about COVID-19, call the IDPH hotline at 800-889-3931.