Coronavirus: No immediate plans to close Fallbrook-area schools

While concerts, sporting events and other large public gatherings were beginning to be cancelled across the country Thursday amid concerns that COVID-19 has begun to spread in the community, Fallbrook-area schools had no immediate plans to cancel classes — yet.

No school districts in San Diego County had announced school closures as of Thursday, but other school systems across the country, including all schools in the states of Maine and Ohio, were beginning to announce shutdowns.

Meanwhile, San Diego County health officials on Thursday announced a ban on all public gatherings of more than 250 people.

Fallbrook Union Elementary School District spokesman Seth Trench said officials from the elementary school district met with Fallbrook Union High School District and Vallecitos School District representatives on Wednesday to discuss "how we can create a coordinated effort to keep our community safe."

Trench said Fallbrook elementary school officials are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and the San Diego County Public Health Department.

"The decision to close schools, if necessary, will be made in consultation with our local public health department and the CDC," Trench said. "At this time, it is not recommended by public health experts that K-12 schools close as a preventative measure. If these health organizations see the need to close one or more schools at any time, we are ready to do so."

Trench said in the case that schools are closed, Fallbrook elementary schools have developed an independent, in-home study curriculum that is ready to be deployed.

Bonsall Unified School District officials said in an email to families and staff that the district is following guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Education, and made clear that the decision to close schools is one that has to be left up to county- and state-level administrators.

"A key component of the guidance, and an additional guidance sent to districts, is that school districts cannot unilaterally close schools," Bonsall Unified officials said in the email. "The decision to do so must involve the County Public Health Department, County Office of Education and the State of California. At this time, Bonsall Unified School District will remain open pending further direction."

The superintendent and principal of the Vallecitos School District, which serves Rainbow, said her district is also following state guidance regarding the coronavirus.

"This is a fluid situation and at this time we are using that guidance to implement plans specific to our district as conditions unfold," Vallecitos Superintendent/Principal Maritza Koeppen said. "We are aware of the concerns and have been, and continue to be, proactive with actions to mitigate risk at our district. The safety of our students and staff is an absolute priority."

Officials at the Fallbrook Union High School District did not immediately return a request for comment.

Elsewhere in San Diego County, the San Diego Unified School District board held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to declare an emergency situation and approve a resolution authorizing "the superintendent and/or his designee to take any and all actions necessary to ensure the continuation of public education, and the health and safety of the students and staff at the district sites," according to a San Diego Unified statement.

The city and county of San Diego both declared public health emergencies at a press conference today, banning all mass gatherings of 250 or more people and announcing five new confirmed cases of coronavirus over the last day.

Those five cases include a woman in her 70s who was aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship and is in home isolation; a man in his 50s with a travel history to Colorado; a man in his 40s with a possible travel history to Colorado who is under investigation; a woman in her 70s -- also a passenger on the ship — who was quarantined in Miramar and is now in hospital isolation; and a man in his 50s who is in the hospital in isolation and who public health officials believe may be a community transmission.

This last case is especially concerning for city and county health, as it means the respiratory illness known as COVID-19 is "very likely"

spreading among the community at large.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].