Reassurance Concerning Coronavirus 3rd February 2020

3^rd February 2020

Dear Parent/carer

Reassurance concerning Coronavirus

You will have heard that two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in York last week. As the city is not too far away, and we have colleagues there, I wanted to offer you our reassurance.

The risk from coronavirus continues to be low, in York and elsewhere, and the situation is being closely monitored. However, any advice may change. NHS services are well prepared and are ready to respond as needed. For the very latest national updates please go to www.gov.uk/coronavirus

We understand that the coronavirus is behaving in a similar way to seasonal flu, which we are all used to dealing with every winter. For the majority of people flu is an unpleasant infection which can take a week or so to recover from but it doesn’t cause any long lasting harm. The elderly and people with existing long term health conditions such as heart disease and chronic lung disease appear to be most at risk.

There are basic steps that people can take to protect themselves from any infection, not just coronavirus, which is worth being aware of:

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water regularly and always before eating.
• There is no clear evidence that wearing a face mask provides any protection, so this is not recommended.
• Catching coughs and sneezes is vitally important. People should use a paper tissue, not their hands, make sure that their nose and mouth are completely covered so that no spray escapes and dispose of the tissue as soon as possible afterwards.

If anyone has symptoms of the virus – feeling feverish, cough, shortness of breath and they are worried they may been in contact with someone who has the coronavirus – they should not visit A&E or their GP surgery, since this may spread infection. Instead, call NHS 111 for further advice.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Angela Clark

Head of School