The Safety Plan By: Daric F.
We are over a month into the school year and everything has gone according to plan… well, sort of. It is 2020 after all. This is the first time in Gow's history that we have to have a plan in case we can't be here on campus. As of right now, we have had no problems with the safety plan that came into effect on July 28, 2020. When I talked to Mr. Salerno who go the idea for the safety plan rolling? He said, "We got the idea for the safety plan started back in May. The people that were involved with the plan were Mr. Rogers, Mr. Salerno, Mr. Marshman, Nurse Kathy, and the New York State Department of Health." As the decision maker/leader for student health, Nurse Kathy provided clarity about some issues that weren't verified in the safety plan posted online. For example, what if a local student gets COVID-19 can they go home? Her response: “If a local student gets COVID-19, then the parents would have a choice to bring them home or not." I asked Nurse Kathy If the vaccine is ready in December will it be monitory for students to get it? She said, "No because we don’t make families get the flu shot so we can't make a
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family get a shot 'til the state says something about the vaccine." As of now, New York State Governor Cuomo has said little to nothing about COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Other states have said they won't make a requirement but will highly suggest it. The last question for Nurse Kathy was once home games start up at Gow, will opposing players get their temperature checked by Gow or will we take the word of the other team? Her answer was "It would depend if the other team wants us to do it or if they will tell us before the game." I had a brief chance to speak with Nurse Halila and ask her what her greatest fear if once COVID-19 hits Gow. Her response was "The answer to this question would have looked different six months ago, when we did not know a lot about COVID-19. But the last few weeks have helped us understand the disease better and we know what to do in order to mitigate it. Gow has implemented a great plan for students and staff to keep everyone as safe as possible. Therefore I personally am not very concerned with COVID-19 presence at our school as we have the proper equipment, protocol and staff to confront it." This is just the surface of the many safety measures taken to make sure this year is safe.
