FACT SHEET Student Safety and COVID-19
FACT SHEET – Student Safety and the TQR solution (temporary quarantine room)
Background: Schools face numerous issues in re-opening and remaining open, including keeping students and staff safe in the event that any on-campus students or staff are found to exhibit symptoms of COVID-19. As noted below, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that school administrators and nursing staff “identify an isolation room or area to separate anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive but does not have symptoms.”
Dr. Jack Parker, superintendent of Mt. Vernon Community Schools, notes that for student safety reasons: “Isolation is really important. If somebody comes to our school with a symptom of COVID-19, the first thing we do is we get them isolated.”
VIDEO – Dr. Parker and school officials explain how the TQR helps schools with a “great solution” for cost-effective school safety – visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJ-MK_BGm8&t
Determining the best means to achieve critical isolation in a sensitive and effective way represents a challenge for school administrators. Dr. Parker says: “Schools are trying to figure this out. Creating something ourselves for separation presents a whole bunch of other challenges. Is it a safe structure?” Can it be sanitized easily – and more?
The TQR, offered at cost (no profit) by Hamilton, saves schools time and funds and provides peace of mind. “Hamilton gave us a great solution,” noted Dr. Parker about the TQR™. “It’s going to be able to serve us for a long time for many reasons well beyond our need in the pandemic. This is a great solution that’s affordable for all schools.”
Parent issues:
- School safety research shows that parents are more worried about safety than the emotional and social benefits of their kids as schools reopen. (Meredith Corp Data Studio research, August 2020 – https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/354966/meredith-tracks-back-to-school-trends-buying-safe.html?)
- Some 44% of mothers worry about their children getting sick as they return to school; many parents worry that their children will contract the COVID-19 virus at school and bring it home.
- “While current evidence suggests that children younger that 10 years may be less likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2, and less likely to spread the infection to others, schools still need to plan for exposures.”
- “School nurses will take the temperature of anyone who feels ill during the school day, and there should be a specific area to separate or isolate students who are not feeling well.” https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Return-to-School-During-COVID-19.aspx
Key School Considerations:
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guidelines for School Safety:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html
- “Work with school administrators, nurses, and other healthcare providers to identify an isolation room or area to separate anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive but does not have symptoms” (emphasis added)
- “Although the cumulative rate [of infection] is low, one in three children hospitalized with COVID-19 was admitted to an intensive care unit so the risk is not negligible.”
- “School officials should make decisions about school reopening based on…their capacity to implement appropriate mitigation measures in schools to protect students, teachers, administrators, and other staff.”
- “Regardless of the number of cases in a community, every school should have a plan in place to protect staff, children, and their families from the spread of COVID-19 and a response plan in place for if/when a student, teacher, or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.”
- “Some students may develop symptoms of infectious illness while at school. Schools should take action to isolate students who develop these symptoms from other students and staff.”
- “In developing plans for placing students with symptoms in an isolation area, schools should be mindful of appropriate safeguards to ensure that students are isolated in a non-threatening manner, within the line of sight of adults, and for very short periods of time.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/symptom-screening.html
TQR™ FACTS
- Customized internal facility that respects privacy while helping to protect other students and staff according to CDC and local health guidelines
- Provides peace of mind for parents, staff, students and administrators (no handmade temporary solutions that provide minimal safety standards and are challenging to disinfect)
- Built and provided at cost (no profit); cost can be subsidized by local corporate and philanthropic sponsorship
- Provides standardized solution that is portable, modular and can be re-purposed (e.g. diagnostic facility, telehealth area, private testing facility)
- Easy to clean and sanitize according to CDC and local health department standards
- Facility can fit into spaces against existing walls or corner areas, no remodeling construction required
- Can be located near school health facility and/or near designated exit for pickup by parents or guardians
- TQR™ facility can have school spirit or kid-friendly signage affixed to interior and exterior to help put students at ease and reduce possible stigma
- Different configurations available
Note: in addition to the TQR™, Hamilton offers other Safe School distancing and hygiene barriers (all sold at cost in the public interest).
For more information, contact:
MEDIA – Michael Snyder, 317-805-4870 msnyder@themekgroup.com
HAMILTON – John Patten, 317-504-0713 jpatten@hamilton-exhibits.com
# # #