ROANOKE, Va. – Health and school leaders are working together to prevent your kids from getting sick when returning to the classroom.
Dr. Cynthia Morrow with the Virginia Department of Health Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts said COVID-19, flu, RSV, strep, and meningococcal disease are all different illnesses to watch this season.
“We need everybody to be up to date on all vaccines to minimize the risks of the public’s health,” Dr. Morrow said.
Vaccinations for students are required going into Kindergarten, seventh grade, and twelth grade.
Roanoke County Public Schools heads back on Wednesday.
“We continue to do many of the same cleaning procedures that we did back during COVID, none of that has really changed,” Roanoke County Public Schools spokesperson Chuck Lionberger said.
The district said they’ll continue disinfecting surfaces, keeping hand sanitizer and hand washing areas accessible to kids.
“We’re very thankful that you know we are able to have a much more normal school year, but that doesn’t mean that we let our guard down,” Lionberger said. “We still are vigilant and make sure that we are doing all those basic things that we can do and that again we encourage parents to do at home.”
It takes parents and schools working together to keep children safe. Dr. Morrow said one of the most important things to remember this school year is to keep sick kids at home.
“Children who are sick should stay home from school, period,” Dr. Morrow said. “We don’t want children with fevers or gastrointestinal illness to be in school.”