Health and Safety Newsletter

4/21/21

The Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) has opened many community clinics to anyone over the age of 16 who wishes to get a COVID-19 vaccination. In Douglas County, those aged 16-18 must have a signed parental consent form and a parent or legal guardian with them at the time of the vaccination appointment. Walk-ins are available, or to schedule an appointment click here.

For more information on the vaccination clinics offered through DCHD, please visit their website.

For those who have already been vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control strongly recommends individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine to continue taking steps to mitigate the spread. It is imperative we maintain the course and continue to practice effective strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Wear a Face Covering Over Mouth and Nose
• Frequent Hand Hygiene
• Social Distancing (maximized to the greatest extent possible)
• Deep Cleaning of High Touch Surfaces and Equipment
• Self-Monitoring for Symptoms of COVID-19

Since the start of the pandemic, Omaha Public Schools led both locally and nationally by keeping health and safety at the forefront. In addition to our layered safety measures, OPS PROTECTS allowed Omaha Public Schools to be proactive and continue teaching and learning responsibly at schools across our district.

Through our partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), the OPS PROTECTS pilot program provided COVID-19 testing opportunities for students and staff, along with environmental air, surface and wastewater testing at three schools which expanded to six in 2021.

"This kind of rigorous infection control and environmental monitoring not only helps lessen risk during school operations, it also might provide insight into how much a disease is spreading in a community where access to testing is limited,” said Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD, a partner in the OPS PROTECTS project.

Results from the initial pilot program schools show that regular, proactive testing is effective in identifying positive cases that otherwise would have gone unnoticed, limiting potential of community spread. The findings from OPS PROTECTS support the comprehensive measures in place throughout Omaha Public Schools to maintain teaching and learning responsibly through the pandemic.

“It’s extremely gratifying to take part in a project which reinforced the importance of some of the measures we put in place across the school district,” said Cheryl Logan, Omaha Public Schools superintendent.

We remind families to complete their daily health assessment before leaving home each day, asking three vital questions:

1. Has your child experienced one or more of the following symptoms: a new cough, new onset of shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell OR two or more of the following symptoms: fever 100.4 or above, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue in the last 24 hours?
2. Is your child waiting for a Covid-19 test result?
3. Has anyone in your household been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last 14 days?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, you will be expected to stay home.

For the safety of the students and staff, please notify the school immediately if your child tests positive for COVID-19, so contact tracing can begin.

Throughout the second semester, we will continue our Meals2Go curbside meal distribution at its regularly scheduled times. This program provides five days of meals for children ages 1-18 at no cost to our families.

• On Mondays, five days of meals will be available for drive-through pickup.
• Elementary meals are available from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
• Middle and high school meals are available from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

If you have questions about student lunches or the Meals2Go program, please contact Nutrition Services at 531-299-0230.

The Meals2Go program will continue to be available at no cost to families throughout the summer of 2021.

Summer meal information and schedules will be provided in the coming weeks.

OPS Health Updates

OPS 1 to 1 Technology Guide

Douglas County Health Homepage

CDC Health Guidelines

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