“We are not stuck at home, we are at home sticking together.”
“We are not stuck at home, we are at home sticking together.” This is a quote from one of several teleconferences I participated in this week that really resonated with me. We truly are sticking together during this challenging time. We’ve had to make a lot of adjustments in our lives, but we’re doing it. As Barbara Ferrer of the Los Angeles County Health Department repeats almost every day, “By staying home and following social distancing guidelines, you are saving the lives of our most vulnerable population.”
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As you’ve read, Los Angeles County is planning how to relax some of the provisions of the Safer at Home order and progress to the next stage to re-open some businesses. It will be a slow re-opening, with social distancing and cloth face coverings as part of the foreseeable future. We will need to continue good hand hygiene, so soap and water, in addition to alcohol-based hand sanitizer, will also be a part of our future.
This week, the CDC expanded the list of symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath) to include: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a new loss of taste or smell. If you or a family member have a cough or shortness of breath, call your primary care physician. You should also call your primary care physician if you have manifested at least two of the other listed symptoms. If you have symptoms, but cannot arrange a test through your primary care physician, free, next-day appointments are available at drive-up testing sites across the county. The elderly or anyone with underlying health conditions should call their primary care physician at the first sign of illness.
Access to coronavirus testing continues to improve. The following groups can now get tested through L.A. County regardless of symptoms: all essential workers, people who are either 65+ or have chronic underlying health conditions, or people living or working in institutional shared living settings.
To help flatten the curve, LA Department of Public Health reminds everyone that if you are ill, even with mild symptoms, please self-isolate at home for seven days and until you are fever and symptom free for 72 hours. If you have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to be infected with COVID-19, you need to quarantine for 14 days from your last contact with that individual.
On another note—with the warmer weather, it’s important to remember to empty standing water from sprinklers and hoses to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. This will help make our time outdoors more enjoyable this summer and fall.
Together we are making a difference. Together we will get through this. I’m looking forward to being together again.
Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
