*** UPDATE***
This is an important message from the San Bernardino City Unified School District. As you know, the coronavirus pandemic continues to be rapidly evolving. As of March 12, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in San Bernardino County or in San Bernardino City Schools. We are following the guidance of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health and as a precaution, beginning Monday, March 16, all District-sponsored fieldtrips, non-essential travel, assemblies, and other large events have been cancelled until further notice.
The District’s CAPS program will remain open and continue to provide services. The District will continue to hold sporting events, however without spectators.
In addition, we are aware of a social media hoax falsely claiming that a case of coronavirus was confirmed at one of our schools. This is untrue. The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health is the local agency authorized to confirm coronavirus cases. This agency is also responsible for mandating school closures. If a school closure is mandated, we will notify you as soon as possible through all official channels. Again, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in San Bernardino City Schools. Thank you.
Este es un mensaje importante del Distrito Escolar de San Bernardino. Como saben, la pandemia del coronavirus continúa cambiándose rápidamente. A fecha del 12 de marzo, no hay casos confirmados del coronavirus en el Condado de San Bernardino ni en el Distrito de San Bernardino. Seguimos la dirección del Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de San Bernardino y como una precaución, empezando el lunes 16 de marzo, todas las excursiones del Distrito, los viajes no esenciales, asambleas y otros eventos grandes se han cancelado hasta nuevo aviso.
El Programa CAPS del Distrito continuará prestando servicios. El Distrito seguirá celebrando eventos deportivos pero sin espectadores.
Además, estamos enterados de un aviso falso en las redes sociales afirmando que se confirmó caso de coronavirus en una de nuestras escuelas. Esto no es cierto. El Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de San Bernardino es la agencia autorizada local para confirmar los casos de coronavirus. Esta agencia también es responsable de ordenar la cancelación de clases. Si se ordena cancelar clases en una escuela, le avisaremos en cuanto sea posible por todos los canales oficiales. De nuevo, no hay ningún caso confirmado del coronavirus en las Escuelas del Distrito de San Bernardino. Gracias.
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March 12, 2020
Dear San Bernardino City Unified Families:
Our top priority is the health and safety of our students and staff, and we take this responsibility seriously. As the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) remains a concern in California and across the country, we want to provide families with updated information.
As of March 11, 2020, there have been no confirmed cases in San Bernardino County or in the San Bernardino City Unified School District. There are a total of 114 positive cases of novel coronavirus and one death in California, with 24 cases related to repatriation flights. The other 90 confirmed cases include 37 that are travel related, 23 due to person-to-person, 14 community acquired, and 16 from unknown sources. Again, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the San Bernardino community.
Although Governor Newsom recently declared a State of Emergency to help California prepare for broader spread of coronavirus, the health risk to the general public in San Bernardino County remains low at this time. While there is no immediate risk locally, we remain in direct contact with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, the lead agency that monitors communicable diseases in our county.
Because this is the peak of flu season, we recommend that all families continue practicing good hygiene. We are encouraging these best practices across our District and ask that you also follow them at home. These include:
- Frequently washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Keeping surfaces clean
- Sneezing or coughing into a tissue or your elbow
- Most importantly, keeping students home when they are sick with flu-like symptoms, including a fever of 100-degrees, shortness of breath, and coughing
We also remind families that if your child is staying home sick, please call the school office to report the absence.
If you have specific questions regarding novel coronavirus, please visit http://wp.sbcounty.gov/dph/coronavirus/. You can also visit www.sbcusd.com/readysbcusd for information specific to the San Bernardino City Unified School District. And the Centers for Disease Control has a hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO.
Additionally, all families should make sure they receive timely information about school and District operations by downloading the free SBCUSD app, registering to receive Peachjar electronic flyers, and updating your contact information if any of it has changed since the start of the school year.
Thank you for your diligence and support.
Dale Marsden, Ed.D
Superintendent