UCF suspends travel to MontCo

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on March 10, 2020

Amid continuing concerns over COVID-19, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District now considers all of Montgomery County to be an area of infection. As such, the district has suspended student- and staff-travel to MontCo. The action is one of several — including the closure of Unionville High School and CF Patton Middle School for Tuesday, March 10 — because a student was exposed to Coronavirus in King of Prussia last Friday,

In an email sent at 3:10 p.m. on March 10, Superintendent John Sanville said:

“Given the growing number of cases in Montgomery County, we now consider the entire county a focus area of infection. We are suspending student and staff travel to all areas in Montgomery County. Additionally, we are prohibiting groups traveling from Montgomery County to our district. We also continue to suspend all student and staff [to] travel to urban areas.”

The actions follow the passage of the district’s Pandemic Level Action Plan which the school board directors voted on Monday night.

As part of that plan, “students who have traveled from a CDC designated level 3 country or who have someone in their home who has traveled from a CDC designated level 3 country to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Please contact your principal if this situation applies to you so we can provide further guidance. We will work with staff and students who are quarantined in order to meet unique needs,” the email said.

Sanville continued, saying the district has been disinfecting school buses regularly since the beginning of February. Buses are also wiped down daily, he said.

The two schools closed Tuesday were being disinfected and are expected to be fully operational Wednesday.

Sanville’s email continued:

“The District will be understanding with student absences during this time. If you have concerns about sending your child to school, you may keep him/her home — the absence will be excused - simply send in a note.

“We are constantly monitoring conditions and how they may impact upcoming district events. Circumstances are changing day-to-day and we realize that we may need to postpone some events if conditions get worse. We understand that the uncertain status of some events may be frustrating — we share your feelings.”