SGS COVID Update

Dear Saint George's Community,

As we reach the start of March, I wanted to give you some updates on what Spokane Regional Health District is seeing combined with what we are seeing here on campus.  

There is a fatigue level with protocols around the country, state, and community.  As our caseloads in Spokane County drop, it is imperative we continue to do the things that have led to our success at Saint George's School.  The cold is going around, and allergies are starting to creep in as our weather is beginning to change.  According to Spokane Regional Health District, they are seeing an uptick of school-age kids who believe they are having allergy or cold symptoms who are testing positive for COVID.  Many of those kids are rejoining class without testing and causing classroom shutdowns.   SRHD still wants to have our students stay home from school when symptoms are present.  They also want to see a negative test if those symptoms last longer than 24 hours, or your student has more than one symptom for any duration.  We expect some protocols to change in the near future as the number of cases drop.  We will notify you when the changes come.

At SGS we are getting more calls asking about how to handle cold and allergy symptoms.  In our discussion with SRHD, they recommend getting tested for cold symptoms.  For allergies, if they are chronic, parents can get a doctor’s note in lieu of getting tested each time multiple symptoms are present.  Their advice was to also get a test if there were any symptoms outside of regular allergies.  
 
We are at the end of our sixth month of school this year with a little over three months to go.  I cannot begin to thank every one of you for helping the school community stay as safe as possible.  Our parents have partnered with the school from day one to keep our staff and students safe.  With our continued diligence we can get through the rest of the school year as safely as possible.  

Sincerely,

Ryan Peplinski
COVID Coordinator