We've been working hard to protect the safety of students, staff, and teachers from COVID-19. With guidance from the Wuhan Development Zone (Hannan District) Education Bureau, we are implementing our plan to prevent the spread of illness among our community. The plan includes the following:

Disinfecting and ventilating the school facility multiple times per day
Limiting campus access to essential personnel only
Documenting recent travel history for all students, staff, and households in the community.
Checking temperatures and health codes for all students, staff, and approved visitors multiple times per day
Ensuring adequate social distancing during lunch time
Creating a safe isolation area for anyone who becomes sick during the school day
Stocking up on all necessary PPE and cleaning supplies
Ongoing monitoring of the pandemic situation worldwide and its impact on our community

HEALTH & SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

RETURNING STUDENTS

If you are not a new WYIS student but are returning to campus after a holiday or vacation, we require you to turn in only one form: the WYIS Health Registration Form. This form asks for temperature tracking for 14 days, as well as locations of any places you've traveled outside Wuhan since February 8.

We will check to ensure that each student at WYIS returns from Chinese New Year holiday or any extended absence with this form. If a student does not have this form on their first day back, they will not be admitted into classes.

For Chinese New Year holiday - Please print your Health Registration Form soon and be prepared to complete it daily either beginning February 8 or 14 days prior to your first day back from holiday.

NEW STUDENTS

All new WYIS students will need to turn in the 3 items below before their first day on campus.

HEALTH PASS - The Health Pass is a form where you'll track your child's temperature for 14 days prior to entering campus.
PROMISE CERTIFICATE - View and download the Promise Certificate here.
NEGATIVE NUCLEIC ACID TEST - All students are required to show they have had a negative nucleic acid test result before entering campus. These tests are readily available at most hospitals and health clinics. The test is quick, and you can usually get results on paper in a day or two. If results show on your phone only and you were not given results on paper, please make a screen print or print out a copy of all the info from your phone. We must have a paper copy of these results.

HEALTH PROTOCOL IN CASE OF FEVER

Following are important updates to our health guidelines as of September 28, 2020.

For students who develop fever at home, it is not mandatory to get a negative nucleic acid test for Covid-19 before coming back to school. However, students are required to consult a doctor and get a medical certificate showing they are in good health before they can return to school. If their doctor suspects respiratory infection and requires them to get a test for Covid-19, they will have to bring those test results to school with them.

Following is the procedure for students on campus with a fever:

Teacher will identify the student with a fever and tell the school nurse and other appropriate school personnel.
The teacher will remove other students from the room with the sick student.
The School Nurse will take the sick student to the isolation room and measure their temperature 3x a day with a mercury thermometer.
School personnel will contact the community doctor assigned to our school. The doctor will decide whether the student needs to be brought to the hospital or not.
If the student needs to be brought to the hospital, they will be transported by the medical staff assigned to our school using their own vehicle. They will be accompanied by one of our staff and their parent/guardian. Once a student has been sent to hosipital, they only can return with a negative test result.
If the doctor decides the student does not need to visit the hospital, they may return to school without a negative test result.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC), the following are symptoms of COVID-19: headache, fatigue (excessive tiredness), runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, muscle aches or joint pains, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever or chills, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea (three or more loose or watery stools in a day). Parents are responsible for monitoring their child’s health. Please keep your child home if they are sick or showing symptoms.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Arrival - Where to Enter

All students will have their temperatures checked before they can enter the building.

ECC students enter through their back doors on the ECC playground. Parents who want to enter with their child will also have their temperatures checked.
Elementary students enter through the side door closest to the Performing Arts Building.
Secondary students (Grades 6-12) enter through the side door nearest the large playground and basketball courts.
Parents and staff (adults) enter through the main lobby.

End-of-Day Pickup Locations

EC3 through EC5 will dismiss from their classroom’s back door on the ECC playground (same as prior year).
Elementary (Grades 1-5) will dismiss through the Performing Arts Building auditorium lobby. Each door is labeled, one door per classroom. Please wait for your child outside appropriate door. Students will be lined up on the inside of the lobby. Parents will need their dismissal card in order to receive their child.
Secondary students will dismiss through the side door closest to the large playground and basketball courts (same as prior year).

End-of-Day Pickup Policies

Each parent is assigned a card for each of their children in ECC and Elementary.
If you don’t have the card for your child, you must go to the reception desk for approval.
If you are picking up someone else’s child, you must have that child’s card or go to the reception desk for approval.
If one parent is picking up another parent’s child, the child’s parent must inform the child’s teacher before 12 noon on the day of pickup. If the teacher is not informed before 12 noon that day, the parent of the child to be picked up must contact the reception desk.

Bus Rider Procedures

Teachers will escort all students to their assigned bus.
A WYIS bus monitor will be on every bus ride to and from campus.
Students are not allowed on the bus without a WYIS staff member on board.
Students must be dropped off at their assigned afternoon location, unless the teacher is otherwise notified by the parent.
Students must follow all school and bus policies on their daily commutes to and from campus. If you have questions about these dismissal procedures for your child, please contact your child’s teacher through email or Canvas.

CAFETERIA & CLASSROOM SAFETY

Cafeteria Safety

No need wear a mask to enter the cafeteria.
Use sanitizer before entering the cafeteria.
Keep 1.5m distance from each other when lined up.
Seats at each table are marked. Sit only on those without the yellow X.
Kitchen staff serve the food and will hand you your spoon, fork, and fruit.
Use student ID card or finger print to pay for lunch (as usual).

Classroom Safety

Students do not have to wear a mask, as long as they keep 1.5m distance. When grouped or in closer settings, students should wear masks.
If a student shows signs of a typical sickness (not suspected Covid-19 symptoms), the teacher will send the student to the school nurse.

IF A STUDENT VOMITS OR HAS FEVER (COVID-19-TYPE SYMPTOMS):

The teacher will contact the receptionist and school nurse.
The nurse will determine if the student needs to be taken to the isolation room.
A cleaner with special sanitizing and protective equipment will come to disinfect the classroom. (Teachers may take their remaining students to another classroom while the room is being cleaned.)
The receptionist will call to inform the sick student’s parents.
The school will send the sick student to a hospital.
The student can return to school with a doctor’s document.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Will students be required to wear a mask on campus?

As of now, students and teachers will not be required to wear masks in their classrooms. However, this requirement might change. Access to school is restricted to students and teachers with a green health code and negative nucleic acid test for COVID-19. Furthermore, classrooms have been arranged to provide distancing between students and frequent ventilation of the space. There may be special activities that do not allow for adequate social distancing. For these short periods of time, children and staff will be required to wear a mask.

Will lunches be served on campus?

Yes, we will be providing lunches in staggered lunch periods to allow for a minimum number of students in the cafeteria at one time. Cafeteria table seats have been set to a reduced capacity. Food preparation and service staff will wear masks at all times.

What special procedures are in place for food preparation in the school kitchen and for eating in the school cafeteria?

PREPARING LUNCH: 1. In addition to health department inspection, our kitchen equipment and procedures have also been inspected by the local education bureau to ensure our food preparation meets government requirements. 2. All food preparation personnel have a negative nucleic acid test for SARS-COV-2 and have valid health certificates. 3. All food preparation personnel are required to wear masks and protective clothing throughout the food preparation and serving process. 4. All food preparation personnel are checked for body temperature in the morning and before lunch. SERVING/EATING LUNCH: 1. All food and tableware will be distributed by the food preparation staff. Students will not be allowed to touch others’ food tray or tableware. 2. Lunch times are staggered to minimize the number of students in the cafeteria at one time. 3. Everyone who enters the cafeteria dining area must first wash hands. (Hand sanitizer is provided at the entrance.) 4. Students must keep 1.5 meters apart while in line for food. 5. Students must keep 2 empty seats between each other while eating. 6. Masks will not be worn when eating.

What will be the procedure if a student becomes ill during the school day?

If a student becomes ill with headache, cough, nausea or fever (>37.3 C), the student will be escorted to an isolation area on campus where he or she will receive care from a trained monitor and wait to be picked up by a parent or guardian. The teacher and other students will temporarily move to a different location until the classroom has been cleaned and disinfected. After the classroom has been disinfected, the teacher and other students can return.

What will be the procedure for a student to return to school after an illness, or if a student’s family member is ill?

If a student leaves school or is absent due to illness, or if a member of the student’s household is ill, the student should remain at home until receiving a negative test result. While waiting for approval to return to the classroom, the student may continue with instruction online if he or she is feeling well enough.

Will bus service resume?

Yes. Check with the office for information about the 2020 fall bus routes. Busses will be cleaned and disinfected at the beginning and end of each day. All bus riders will need to wear a mask while on the bus. They will also have temperatures checked before boarding and need to show a green health code and negative nucleic acid test on their phone (or the phone of a family member). For younger riders, it is recommended they come with a parent, in case for some reason they cannot board the bus.

What will be the procedure if a student or family member returns from travel outside Hubei Province?

If a student or member of the student’s household returns to the home from travel outside Hubei province, the family must notify the school office and be approved for classroom instruction with a negative test result before returning to campus. While waiting for approval to return to the classroom, the student can continue with instruction online.

Can family and community members come to campus?

Yes. Everyone will show their green QR code and take a temperature check before entering the school buildings or campus events. Update January 27, 2021 - Parents may drop off their children in the lobby, but we ask that parents no longer try to walk their elementary children to class. In order to keep our campus as safe as possible, only students and staff are allowed in the classroom hallways each morning.

My child travels to school by himself everyday, but he does not have a phone and health code. What would happen in this situation?

If your child doesn’t have a phone or if the nucleic acid test result doesn’t show up on his or her phone, no problem. You just need to sign a statement that your child has been in Hubei province for at least 14 days, and provide the written record from a Chinese hospital demonstrating a negative result on the child's nucleic acid test. Your child can bring those papers to school the first day on campus. We’ll record it in our system, and that will satisfy the requirement.