Principal's Update - Coronavirus

Over the weekend, the first case of the Coronavirus was established in Hobart and the public notified via the media.

I wanted to write to you to ask that all of us in the Dominic College community be vigilant with and use the same common sense measures that we would use for all infectious diseases.

As you will be aware, the Coronavirus can make people sick, usually with a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold. The symptoms can include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possible headache and a fever that can last for a couple of days.

The advice from all health advisory bodies for any student or staff member who feels unwell is to not attend school and to seek immediate medical advice. I would recommend that we be particularly careful and more cautious than usual if our children are presenting with the above symptoms.

At the College we will implement a campaign this week of Protective Coughing & Sneezing and Protective Hand Washing. We will use the posters from the World Health Organisation to reinforce best hygiene practices. I would greatly appreciate if you could reinforce this at home.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

We do not want to frighten our students but we do want to be careful and students will be encouraged to not hold hands to avoid spreading germs.

I want to also assure you that we are increasing our daily cleaning regime both inside and outside the classrooms. This will include the cleaning of student and staff desks in classrooms and touch surfaces in high traffic areas in the College.

We are seeking to secure additional soap and hand sanitisers so they can be placed in classrooms and toilet areas for ease of access by our students and staff.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are concerned about your children. Ms Maria Walker is our College Health and Safety Officer and can be contacted mwalker@dominic.tas.edu.au. You can also call the College on 6274 6000.

Ms Beth Gilligan

College Principal