South Lake Tahoe and all other El Dorado County schools to close starting Monday

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - All schools in Lake Tahoe Unified School District and the rest of El Dorado County will be closing for at least a week, starting Monday, March 16, 2020.

The decision was made for the safety and wellness of students, families, and school personnel due to the current threat of the world-wide coronavirus COVID-19. There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in El Dorado County.

The announcement came via a joint message from all El Dorado County School District Superintendents and Dr. Ed Manansala, County Superintendent of Schools, with concurrence with Dr. Nancy Williams, County Public Health Officer.

At this time, all of the county schools are slated to be closed March 16-20 and any further days will be decided during the week. LTUSD said their intent is to stay closed for three weeks, followed by Spring Break.

In South Lake Tahoe, procedures for delivering food to kids on the Bread & Broth 4 Kids program and recipients of hot breakfast and lunch during the week are being worked out. Expect more information on the process this weekend.

This decision does not pertain to Lake Tahoe Community College or other Lake Tahoe area schools at this time.

Dr. Williams and the El Dorado County Public Health Division expect to begin seeing positive cases in the coming days and weeks which may require a continued response.

Several counties in California and states across the country have made similar choices, including the counties of Placer, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Ventura. The states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin have decided to close all public schools.

"While we recognize this decision will pose challenges and hardship to many families in our county, the most effective way to slow and disrupt the transmission of this pandemic is by implementing social distancing practices. During the time of the school closure, we are asking that students and families follow the County Public Health Officer’s directive to stay home and minimize social contact to the extent possible," said Dina Gentry, the county school's communications director.

Dr. Williams said that while school dismissals are intended to protect students, teachers, and staff, we need everyone to take social distancing seriously if we are to achieve the greater benefit of protecting everyone in the County from COVID-19.

While children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from COVID-19, they are still able to transmit the virus to populations who are most vulnerable to serious illness, such as older adults and those with compromised immune systems.

To achieve the greatest effect in reducing COVID-19 transmission in El Dorado County, please encourage students and their families during this time to:

• avoid large public gatherings such as malls, movie theaters, and other spaces, especially those that are indoors
• plan to spend the dismissal week with just their immediate family and a few friends
• use social media and phone to keep in touch with the rest of their family and friends
• postpone visits to older adult relatives and neighbors, and to people with compromised immune systems
• avoid traveling out of the county to other locations where COVID-19 is circulating more widely

This is a dynamic situation where information and circumstances can evolve quickly.

For the latest updates, visit:

● Centers for Disease ControlCOVID-19 website: https://www.cdc.gov/COVID19
● El Dorado County Public Health website: https://www.edcgov.us/Government/hhsa/Pages/EDCCOVID-19.aspx
● El Dorado County Office of Education website: http://edcoe.beehv.com/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-information
For ideas on how to talk to your children about COVID-19 please visit: https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-(coronavirus)-a-parent-resource