Will Northern California schools close, cancel trips in response to Sacramento coronavirus case?

Universities in the Sacramento region are suspending study abroad programs in Asia. Local community colleges are warning that students working as medical professionals were exposed to a coronavirus patient at UC Davis Medical Center. The school district in Davis has told parents that student absences due to illness will be excused. And other districts are trying to calm fears among parents while saying they have no immediate plans to cancel classes.

With the recent news of a coronavirus patient being treated at UC Davis Medical Center, and with health officials warning there could be an outbreak, education systems across the Sacramento region are beginning to inform parents on how to take extra precautions to protect themselves and their children.

Two students from Los Rios Community Colleges may have been exposed to the patient who was diagnosed with coronavirus at UC Davis Medical Center. The students, one from American River College and the other from Cosumnes River College, are medical professionals, and were exposed to the individual off campus before the person tested positive.

“County health experts have indicated that there are no indications at this time that members of the campus communities are at risk of potential exposure to the virus,” read a statement from the college district.

The announcement came directly from the Los Rios Community College District, which stated the students have been instructed to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days, out of an abundance of caution.

“Our colleges are continuing to educate students about appropriate preventive measures and both ARC and CRC, as well as the other Los Rios colleges, are in communication with public health experts,” read the district’s statement. “We are preparing to address any safety, operational or educational issues as they arise.”

The district then said in statements that two more students, studying at Sacramento City College, had been exposed to the patient. The statement said that one of the SCC students “did not return to campus after exposure.” All four are self-quarantining for 14 days, the junior college system says.

All three students, described as being exposed “while performing their professional medical duties,” have been instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days, the junior college system says.

Los Rios Community College District has not canceled any college activities and does not plan to.

“Any decision to close our campuses would come at the direction of county health experts based on their assessment of the risk to our students and communities,” Los Rios Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategy and Communications Gabe Ross said in a statement to The Bee.

Parent concerns about coronavirus in children

Some school districts in the region, including Sacramento City Unified and Elk Grove Unified, are fielding calls from concerned parents who want to know what schools are doing to protect students.

School districts are changing their own policies swiftly. Davis Joint Unified School District sent an email to parents on Wednesday saying all absences due to illness will be excused, and students will be able to make up missed work. The district has already taken additional measures to disinfect rooms daily because of the flu season.

A Witter Ranch Elementary School teacher in Natomas Unified in Sacramento informed the principal that their spouse worked as a first responder at UC Davis Medical Center, where a coronavirus patient was being treated. The spouse was sent home, and the school district directed the teacher to stay home as well, according to a statement from the district.

The spouse has since returned to work and the district plans to allow the teacher back soon. As an extra precaution, the school deep cleaned the classroom, but stressed there is no reason to believe the teacher was exposed to the virus.

San Juan Unified officials say they are closely monitoring the situation for potential new travel restrictions, and one of their schools has a trip to Japan scheduled over summer break. The district is monitoring developments, said spokeswoman Raj Rai.

Two adults and 12 students at Mira Loma High School planned to take a trip to Japan in mid-June. These students are taking Japanese language courses at the school and plan to visit Mira Loma High’s sister school in Japan. As of now, the trip has not been canceled.

California State University, Sacramento announced Wednesday it is suspending its study abroad program in South Korea amid the news of the disease spreading in the country. Approximately five Sacramento State students are in Seoul, South Korea, and will return to the United States, according to university officials. South Korea reported more than 170 new cases of the virus on Wednesday. The country currently has 1,700 cases of the novel coronavirus.

UC Davis announced it will suspend study abroad trips to China planned for the following quarter, and a number of Bay Area universities are reconsidering their study abroad programs as well.

Sacramento City Unified shared information with parents on Wednesday on how to practice everyday prevention: wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, stay home when your are sick, and get a flu shot. District officials have also told parents that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says N95 respirators are not needed outside of a healthcare facility setting and are not designed for children.

While infections in children have been reported, the CDC says there is no evidence that children are more susceptible to the virus. In fact, it was relatively uncommon for students to be infected during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreaks, according to the CDC.

California health and safety code provides local health officers with the authority to control communicable diseases and to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, according to Sacramento City Unified officials. The district is in the process of revising its response plan in coordination with health officials and the Sacramento County Office of Education.

“We have been in preparedness mode for cold and flu season since November,” read a statement from district officials to The Sacramento Bee. “In light of the developments with COVID-19, we are in the process of updating our measures.”

In addition to Sacramento State and UC Davis’ travel restrictions, Stanford University suspended its program to Italy, after the number of cases surged to 400 this week. San Jose State University suspended its study abroad programs, and also its student exchange program with South Korea. UC Berkeley and Santa Clara University currently have no programs abroad.

Sacramento Bee reporter Theodora Yu contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 11:47 AM.