COVID-19: Letter to Parents

March 15, 2020

To Our Hand in Hand Families

Response to COVID-19 During Spring Break

With growing global concerns surrounding COVID-19, Hand in Hand is keeping a close eye on the developing situation in British Columbia. I wanted to provide you with an update and our commitment to you during our Spring Break programs which start March 16^th to March 27^th. The health, safety and well-being of our employees and the children we serve is our top priority and we are following the lead of the BC Provincial Health authorities. While the Canadian Public Health Agency has assessed the current public health risk associated with the coronavirus as low, we continue to monitor developments very closely. At this point, as there are no known cases of COVID-19 in our schools and our staff, our Spring Break programs for those that have signed up will operate as scheduled.

However, Hand in Hand programs will continue to take further steps to ensure the safety of our staff and children. At this time, health officials are not recommending school closures and advised that it is reasonable to continue our Spring Break operations. Our staff have ramped up our hygiene and disinfecting practices and are following standard contagious illness protocols and best practices as advised by Fraser Health. Please remember that this is an evolving situation.

Precautions Moving Forward

We are following the Ministry of Health protocols which are as of March 12^th:

• The BC Provincial Health officials are advising against all non-essential travel outside of Canada.
• Any families or staff who travel outside of Canada during Spring Break will be expected to self-isolate for 14 days before returning to any site at the Abbotsford School District.
• We are asking staff to stay home if they are sick and/or have recently travelled to a high-risk location or been in direct contact with someone who is showing symptoms or recently travelled outside of Canada.
• We are asking parents to follow the same safety protocols and refrain from bringing your child to our programs if they are symptomatic and you believe they may be at risk.

Please contact the program you attend or our admin office at 604-859-1843 immediately if anyone in your family circle have been at Hand in Hand and are now diagnosed with COVID-19.

We recognize how essential our services are to our families and are carefully considering ways to continue to provide this to you. However, we all need to be prepared over the coming days that there likely will be more changes to this situation. We will continue to monitor the local context closely and will rely on recommendations and guidance from health experts for decision-making. We will advise you if there are future changes in our daily operations. Please check our website routinely: www.handinhand.ca or social media page. The https://www.abbyschools.ca/announcement/novel-coronavirus-covid-19 will also provide school closure updates.

Thank You for your understanding and support; stay safe.

Cheryl Havens

Executive Director

Hand in Hand Child Care Society