​As temperatures drop, SJASD families and staff need to be prepared for another respiratory season.

SJASD encourages staff and students to follow the advice of public health officials to help reduce the transmission of viruses in our schools and buildings. Specifically, COVID-19 guidance has been incorporated into other respiratory virus guidance for the 2023 fall season.

A student or staff member experiencing respiratory symptoms or that tests positive for a respiratory infection is encouraged to take the following precautions:

• Avoid close contact with others, especially people at higher risk of severe illness or complications from a respiratory infection.
• Avoid non-essential visits to high-risk settings (e.g., personal care homes, health care facilities).
• Clean your hands regularly – wash your hands with soap and water for at least 15 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes.
• If appropriate, open windows to encourage airflow.
• If you cannot avoid close contact with others, take other prevention measures such as wearing a mask in indoor settings.
• Stay home and away from others until your symptoms have improved, you feel well enough to resume normal activities, you are free of fever for around 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication (e.g. acetaminophen or ibuprofen).
  

For more information, including public health guidance on close contacts, visit the Province of Manitoba's COVID-19 website. SJASD encourages anyone with further questions about respiratory illnesses and/or COVID-19 to speak to a medical professional.

Caregivers should continue to use the SafeArrival App to inform school administrators of a student absence and can contact school administrators if they have questions about this.

SJASD Measures

SJASD staff members are taking the following precautions to decrease the risk of virus transmission in our schools and buildings:

• Distributing disinfecting wipes to classrooms and auxiliary spaces.
• Instructing staff to increase the practice of surface area cleaning, handwashing and reminding everyone to use appropriate respiratory etiquette (cover coughs and sneezes).
• Ensuring high quality hand sanitizers and soaps are available in common areas.
• Encouraging staff to wear a mask if they are feeling unwell.
• Distributing medical grade procedure masks to schools and buildings for placement in common areas for anyone that chooses to wear a mask due to transmission concerns. (Please note that supplies are limited, and individuals that choose to wear a mask over a period of time or regularly are encouraged to source their own masks).

We remind our community that SJASD continues to be a mask-friendly environment. Mask use is an individual choice, and we expect community members to continue to treat each other with respect regarding this matter.

We thank the community for their efforts to reduce the spread of infections.

Additional Resources

COVID-19 Guidance, Province of Manitoba's COVID-19 website.

Break the Chain of Infection, Public Health Agency of Canada