In a cautious approach, Yuba River Charter School (YRCS) in Nevada County, California has shut down its premises because an unvaccinated child with measles had attended school before spring break.
To curb the spread of measles given its contagious nature, the Nevada County school quarantined the campus and has extended its spring holidays by one day. Measles are infectious and can easily be spread to others by air or direct contact.
Taking account of this incident, Ron Charles, the Director of the school, emailed and called up the parents to inform them of the closure.
Further, the school has announced that while it will reopen on March 30, students who are not vaccinated for measles should not attend school until April 8, and must remain under home quarantine. Vaccinated students upon producing the documentation of immunity can resume school.
An excerpt from the letter that was issued to the parents of the infected child from the Nevada County Public Health Department goes on to convey that if the measles-infected child does not produce necessary documentation of immunity to measles, the child will be excluded from school from March 29, 2016 effectively.
The essential documents include a documentation of one or more measles vaccinations dated at least two weeks before March 17 or later. Alternatively they can produce a blood test report showing IgG antibodies to measles.
The same applies to other students as well. If either of these documentations cannot be presented by other students, they too will be barred from attending school.
The excluded students can resume school on April 8 once the Health Officer from the Nevada County Public Health Department affirms that the period of surveying the outbreak of measles is done and no new cases of measles have sprouted in the vicinity.
The excluded students have also been requested to be quarantined, and to stay put at home during this precarious period.
Based on records, Nevada County has been identified with one of the lowest vaccination rates in California. Apparently, only 77 percent of its kindergarten students are fully vaccinated for the 2015-16 academic year. YRCS, which has now come under the radar, only has 43 percent of its kindergarten students fully vaccinated.
