Student who may have been exposed to coronavirus staying home

MEREDITH — A student in the Inter-Lakes School District is staying home because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.

Inter-Lakes Superintendent Mary Moriarty said Thursday that she put out a notice to parents on Wednesday stating that, earlier in the day, the district had received guidance that “travelers who visited countries with a Level 3 alert (China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea) to ‘stay home and monitor their health for 14 days after returning to the United States.’”

Asked whether any child was not coming to school because of potential exposure, Moriarty said, “There are people who have been asked to follow the guidance.” She would not elaborate.

In the Wednesday letter, Moriarty wrote, “... in response to information posted on social media regarding someone connected to our school community being directly connected to the COVID-19 virus, our nursing staff contacted the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services-Division of Public Health Services. The NHHS-Division of Public Health Services has reassured us,” the letter went on, “there is no public health risk at this time nor has anyone within or connected to our school communities been identified as a concern.”

“We are simply following the guidance and exercising caution,” Moriarty said Thursday, stressing: “We have no one who is sick with this virus, or who is expected to become sick.”

Moriarty noted that the guidance being put out has been changing. The advise for isolation after travel to Level 3 countries was not included in the advice the district received on Tuesday.

As with other schools in the area, Inter-Lakes is paying close attention to sanitizing fixtures in school buildings, and reminding students and staff about following good hygiene practices, such as sneezing into a tissue or the crook of the arm, and frequently washing hands.