City Officials, Schools, Businesses Prep For Coronavirus
March 11, 2020 at 12:27 a.m.
City Officials, Schools, Businesses Prep For Coronavirus
By Amanda [email protected]
As of Tuesday, six cases of presumptive positive COVID-19 are in Indiana. The patients reside in Marion, Hendricks, Noble, Adams and Boone counties.
“Common sense practices including thorough washing of hands, staying home when not feeling well and promptly seeking medical care when indicated will go a long way to stopping the spread of any virus,” Thallemer said. “The decision to avoid attending or hosting an event where people gather is less clear. Maintaining local and daily routine activity and commerce is a key priority. However, staying informed of current public health information should guide any decision to forgo public gatherings.”
A few examples of local reaction to preparing for the spread can be seen in schools, businesses and planned events.
On Tuesday, Warsaw Community Schools announced it will continue to take preventative steps within the school system, including the assembling of a team to review logistics and how it could impact the schools.
“The safety and health of our students is our top priority at WCS,” it said in a statement, adding that the school corporation is working closely with local, state and national public health officials to ensure best practices and preventative measures.
“WCS maintains the highest standards for cleanliness. Custodians use approved and recommended disinfectant sprays. Schools use a Victory electrostatic sprayer. This is an atomizer that electrostatically positively charges the particles to adhere to the negative surfaces. WCS has a sufficient inventory of disinfecting products. Buses are also disinfected after every route,” the statement said.
WCS also said it sent a letter to parents that provides general information and prevention recommendation, and that the Indiana Department of Education is working under the directive of Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana State Department of Health to provide guidance to schools regarding COVID-19.
Purdue University also announced Tuesday it is changing plans for students and faculty by moving all courses online starting March 23. Also, students who live in residence halls have the option of choosing whether to return to campus or not after spring break. Purdue is suspending all university-sponsored domestic and international air travel effective Monday through May 2, and gatherings of more than 50 or more attendees should be postponed or cancelled. A faculty or staff member who believes they have an essential business reason to hold an event will have to request a waiver through their unit leader, but waivers will be rare, a statement from Purdue states. Also, all summer study abroad academic arrangements are cancelled. The campus, however, will remain open.
Zimmer Biomet recommended on Tuesday to its employees who are deemed “co-located” to work from home, if they can do so, through March, according to Monica Kendrick, vice president of external communications. “We recently implemented a few steps to ensure the health and safety of our team members and our supply chain. ... It’s a recommendation, it is not a mandate.”
Kendrick said co-located means those employees who work in an office in a manufacturing facility. She didn’t know how many employees will choose to follow the recommendation.
“We’re limiting travel for only critical activities and then if we have any internal meetings where we have large groups of team members, we’re working at making them virtual meetings. In areas out of Warsaw where there is an outbreak, we’re providing personal protection equipment and additional support,” she said. “Right now, it’s business as usual, but we’re taking action to ensure the safety of our team members.”
It was also announced Tuesday that the Board of Directors of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana (HFNEI) were postponing the April 29 and May 20 Honor Flights due to the seriousness and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.
“The decision to postpone the Spring Honor Flights was based upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a statement by Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s task force that has been assembled to address the virus,” a news release states.
Dennis Covert, president of HFNEI, said that nearly 100% of the veteran passengers are in their 80s and 90s and many have multiple health issues. The directors are currently working with American Airlines to determine when the two flights can be rescheduled, the release states, and updates can be found at www.hfnei.org.
Thallemer said the city of Warsaw will publish links on the website, www.warsaw.in.gov, to resources such as the CDC and the ISDH.
“We will closely follow the impact of COVID-19 in our community and make proactive decisions to prevent the spread of disease, when appropriate,” Thallemer said. “Our first responders have been trained to provide front-line care to minimize the exposure and spread of the virus.”
Thallemer also said he has been in contact with the local hospital providers and he has been assured they are preparing to meet the necessary challenges to respond to an outbreak.
Rep. Jim Banks (IN-3) released a statement late Tuesday with an update from Pence.
“Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told us today that private insurance companies have agreed to waive all co-pays on coronavirus testing and extend coverage for coronavirus treatment in all of their benefit plans. Insurers also agreed to cover telemedicine services, which will allow all patients, particularly among the vulnerable senior population, to be treated without feeling the need to go to a hospital or doctor’s office,” Banks said. “Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid announced that beneficiaries will have coronavirus testing and treatment covered.”
The ISDH has an online dashboard that is updated daily at 10 a.m. and reflects results received through midnight. It can be found at on.in.gov/COVID19.
As of Tuesday, six cases of presumptive positive COVID-19 are in Indiana. The patients reside in Marion, Hendricks, Noble, Adams and Boone counties.
“Common sense practices including thorough washing of hands, staying home when not feeling well and promptly seeking medical care when indicated will go a long way to stopping the spread of any virus,” Thallemer said. “The decision to avoid attending or hosting an event where people gather is less clear. Maintaining local and daily routine activity and commerce is a key priority. However, staying informed of current public health information should guide any decision to forgo public gatherings.”
A few examples of local reaction to preparing for the spread can be seen in schools, businesses and planned events.
On Tuesday, Warsaw Community Schools announced it will continue to take preventative steps within the school system, including the assembling of a team to review logistics and how it could impact the schools.
“The safety and health of our students is our top priority at WCS,” it said in a statement, adding that the school corporation is working closely with local, state and national public health officials to ensure best practices and preventative measures.
“WCS maintains the highest standards for cleanliness. Custodians use approved and recommended disinfectant sprays. Schools use a Victory electrostatic sprayer. This is an atomizer that electrostatically positively charges the particles to adhere to the negative surfaces. WCS has a sufficient inventory of disinfecting products. Buses are also disinfected after every route,” the statement said.
WCS also said it sent a letter to parents that provides general information and prevention recommendation, and that the Indiana Department of Education is working under the directive of Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana State Department of Health to provide guidance to schools regarding COVID-19.
Purdue University also announced Tuesday it is changing plans for students and faculty by moving all courses online starting March 23. Also, students who live in residence halls have the option of choosing whether to return to campus or not after spring break. Purdue is suspending all university-sponsored domestic and international air travel effective Monday through May 2, and gatherings of more than 50 or more attendees should be postponed or cancelled. A faculty or staff member who believes they have an essential business reason to hold an event will have to request a waiver through their unit leader, but waivers will be rare, a statement from Purdue states. Also, all summer study abroad academic arrangements are cancelled. The campus, however, will remain open.
Zimmer Biomet recommended on Tuesday to its employees who are deemed “co-located” to work from home, if they can do so, through March, according to Monica Kendrick, vice president of external communications. “We recently implemented a few steps to ensure the health and safety of our team members and our supply chain. ... It’s a recommendation, it is not a mandate.”
Kendrick said co-located means those employees who work in an office in a manufacturing facility. She didn’t know how many employees will choose to follow the recommendation.
“We’re limiting travel for only critical activities and then if we have any internal meetings where we have large groups of team members, we’re working at making them virtual meetings. In areas out of Warsaw where there is an outbreak, we’re providing personal protection equipment and additional support,” she said. “Right now, it’s business as usual, but we’re taking action to ensure the safety of our team members.”
It was also announced Tuesday that the Board of Directors of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana (HFNEI) were postponing the April 29 and May 20 Honor Flights due to the seriousness and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.
“The decision to postpone the Spring Honor Flights was based upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a statement by Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s task force that has been assembled to address the virus,” a news release states.
Dennis Covert, president of HFNEI, said that nearly 100% of the veteran passengers are in their 80s and 90s and many have multiple health issues. The directors are currently working with American Airlines to determine when the two flights can be rescheduled, the release states, and updates can be found at www.hfnei.org.
Thallemer said the city of Warsaw will publish links on the website, www.warsaw.in.gov, to resources such as the CDC and the ISDH.
“We will closely follow the impact of COVID-19 in our community and make proactive decisions to prevent the spread of disease, when appropriate,” Thallemer said. “Our first responders have been trained to provide front-line care to minimize the exposure and spread of the virus.”
Thallemer also said he has been in contact with the local hospital providers and he has been assured they are preparing to meet the necessary challenges to respond to an outbreak.
Rep. Jim Banks (IN-3) released a statement late Tuesday with an update from Pence.
“Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told us today that private insurance companies have agreed to waive all co-pays on coronavirus testing and extend coverage for coronavirus treatment in all of their benefit plans. Insurers also agreed to cover telemedicine services, which will allow all patients, particularly among the vulnerable senior population, to be treated without feeling the need to go to a hospital or doctor’s office,” Banks said. “Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid announced that beneficiaries will have coronavirus testing and treatment covered.”
The ISDH has an online dashboard that is updated daily at 10 a.m. and reflects results received through midnight. It can be found at on.in.gov/COVID19.
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