Update: November 10th, 2020

The Mercer School District has been notified that a staff member at Mercer School tested positive for COVID-19.

Per our established protocol, we have temporarily closed off all areas of the building that the individual used in the past several days so that we can thoroughly clean and disinfect the spaces. We will take the steps necessary to protect the health of our students and staff.

The individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to school until the school and Iron County Health Department determine it is safe to do so. Classes will continue in person.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Individuals who need medical care should call their medical provider to report their illness prior to seeking care at a clinic, physician’s office, or hospital. Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact local health authorities or the Iron County Department of Health and remain at home.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more. If you have questions, please contact Sheri Kopka at 715-476-2154 or skopka@mercertigers.org.

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July School Opening

Protecting Our Students and Community from Coronavirus

Symptoms of Coronavirus - fever, cough and shortness of breath

When School Resumes

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. When school resumes, please watch for the following symptoms. Keep students home from school and contact their physician to ask to be tested for Coronavirus if they have these symptoms:

Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath

Please contact the school 715-476-2154 to report the absence and symptoms. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of Coronavirus at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website. Those at the highest risk for Coronavirus complications are older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems or heart, lung, and kidney disease. See how Coronavirus is spread. It can take two to 14 days for a person to develop symptoms after initial exposure to the virus; the average is about five days.

We have no known cases of COVID-19 among students or staff in Mercer School District.

We continue to closely monitor the situation with our School Nurses and Iron County Health Department, as well as review updates from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Department of Public Instruction and the CDC. Here is the latest information on confirmed cases in Wisconsin - in Dane, Fond Du Lac, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Pierce, Racine, Sheboygan, Waukesha, Winnebago and Wood counties. Another 37 WI residents returned March 16 from a cruise where they may have been exposed and will be self-quarantined for 14 days.

What You Can Do and Our Cleaning Measures

Mercer School has a routine cleaning regimen in place to help reduce the spread of germs and communicable diseases. In addition to our regular cleaning and disinfection, we are increasing the cleaning of high-touch areas and hard and soft surface items throughout the day. We will follow all the guidelines of the CDC and our local and state health departments.

We all play a role in helping reduce the spread of communicable diseases. We are asking our students, staff, and families to practice regular preventive actions (see flyer in English, Spanish, Hmong and Mandarin Chinese) including:

Wash your hands regularly, for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Make sure to wash your fingertips. This is especially important after using the restroom, coughing or sneezing into your hands, and before preparing or consuming food.
Avoid coughing or sneezing into your hands or in the air. Always try to cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough/sneeze into your arm.
As much as you can, avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.
If children are feeling sick, please keep them home from school. Families should have a plan in place for keeping your child home, picking up your child if they are sent home sick, and if schools are closed.

Travel Restrictions

This is a rapidly evolving situation, with the World Health Organization declaring Coronavirus a pandemic, the President and Governor declaring it a public health emergency and the President issuing a month-long ban effective March 13 on all travel from Europe, including the UK and Ireland, to the U.S.

The state of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is asking schools and organizations to:

Cancel events with over 10 people
Avoid non-essential domestic travel
Avoid traveling to areas in the US with sustained community transmission of COVID-19 (currently Washington, New York, and California). See map of US sustained community transmission of COVID-19.
Self-quarantine for 14 days upon return for anyone who travels to any U.S. states with confirmed community spread of COVID-19.

Many families had travel plans for spring break. If your family traveled to a country with a Level 2 or 3 travel health notice, or a state with community spread the CDC is asking you to self-quarantine for 14 days. Read more about trave21l on the CDC's website.

We appreciate your patience with this fluid situation and we will continue to update you as needed. Please rest assured that we will continue to put your students’ safety first. If you have any questions, reach out to the school at 715-476-2154.

COVID travel
Self Isolation Protocol