The flu hit Barrington schools hard this year.

During the school committee meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, Barrington superintendent Michael Messore shared information about the number of student absences during the first two weeks of February.

Many of the absences were due to the flu, said Mr. Messore, adding that many teachers also missed class because of illnesses.

The data showed that student absences in grades K-5 were well above the absences from prior years. For example, only 4 percent of students at Nayatt School were absent during the first two weeks of February in 2017. That number increased to 4.68 percent in 2018, and 6.28 percent in 2019. But in the first two weeks of this February, more than 9 percent of Nayatt students were absent.

Now school and town officials in Barrington are bracing for the potential impact of Coronavirus, which is also known as COVID-19. 

Mr. Messore and the school district nurse coordinator, Denise Flores, sent an email to parents of Barrington school children on Friday morning, Feb. 28. The message shared some recommendations for preventing the cold, flu and other viruses. It also included a series of webpage links where residents can find more information about COVID-19.

"Superintendents across the state, in collaboration with state officials and the health department, will work collaboratively to update the public of the measures that we will take if COVID-19 becomes pandemic and impacts the normal operations of local schools," stated the email. "We are committed to the safety and wellness of our school community and will keep you informed, as necessary, regarding this evolving situation."

At the Barrington School Committee meeting on Thursday, committee member Dr. Megan Douglas asked that Coronavirus be added to a future meeting agenda so that school officials could further discuss the situation and the district's response. 

Mr. Messore said state education officials had been speaking about virtual learning (online education) as part of the potential response, but Barrington officials had some concerns and said virtual learning was not yet operational.

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha and municipal officials are also taking a proactive approach to the situation. Mr. Cunha is a member of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council, which held a meeting yesterday with an official from the RI Department of Health. 

Mr. Cunha said the DOH official shared information about the virus and urged local leaders to share the facts, and not the fiction.

"We want the people of Barrington to recognize we're on top of this," Mr. Cunha said. "We are not ignoring it. We want to get the word out."

Information from health department

Following is some of the information provided to RIEMA Advisory Council by the department of health:

• World Health Organization and the US Department of Public Health have both declared a Public Health Emergency.

• As of Feb. 26: 81,000 cases in China. Increased numbers of cases in Japan, South Korea, Iran and Italy. 2,770 deaths. 81 percent of cases are mild cases with no hospitalization required. Community transmissions, no known linkage to an infected person, are increasing. 

• United States: Twelve (12) cases from China; Two (2) cases of person-to-person transmission; One (1) case of community transmission in Northern Calif.; CDC approach is “collaborative and aggressive” with the goal of slowing infection down. Development of a vaccine will take 12-18 months.

• Average infection rates (number of people infected by an individual): Influenza (flu) = 1-2; COVID-19 = 2-3; Measles = 12-18

• General information:Spread is by large respiratory droplets, N-95 respirator masks are effective; Common household cleaners / disinfectants are effective; Symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath; Incubation period is typically ~four days, but in rare cases, could be as long 14 days; Testing is currently being done by CDC (~ 4 days). RIDOH will have testing capability once reagents are received, lowering test results times to four hours; Prevention is the same as flu (wash hands, sneeze into elbow, stay home if sick); Expect cases in US to increase. Assessed as low risk; Children are less likely to become infected and have a very low mortality rate.

• RIDOH: Activated Incident Command Center on Feb. 3, primarily to increase communication; Tracking travelers from China to RI with required 14 day quarantine period. May expand tracking and quarantine for travelers from South Korea, Japan and Italy; Containment may be required with significant increase in community transmission. Best containment strategy is to close schools and work from home.

• Updates available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html