Riverside School District to continue COVID cleaning procedures for flu season

LAKE CITY, Ark- Many schools increased cleaning efforts due to the coronavirus.

Now that we are entering flu season, the riverside school district says they will keep those same sanitizing practices in place.

To keep students in the classroom and viruses out.

“We are not going to remove anything unless the threat of COVID were to significantly decrease,” says Riverside High School Principal Matt Ziegler. “We are disinfecting all the classroom’s twice a day, and then; we’re disinfecting the entire building and hallway, everything weekly as well. On top of that, we’re asking students to wear masks and teachers as well. We have placed hand sanitizing stations all around the building.”

Temperatures are also taken when someone enters the building.

They don’t plan to make any changes to cleaning procedures.

While Riverside normally pushes for strong attendance, they are advising students that if they feel sick to not come to school.

If you’re worried about sending your child to school this winter, ADH’s Dr. Jennifer Dillaha says it is safe to send you child to school.

“The real problem with the spread in our communities is not in the school, it’s what kids do after school, their extracurricular activities,” says Dr. Dillaha. “Or, what their families do in terms of social gatherings.”

Craighead County had 60 new COVID cases yesterday and has a 7.2% flu absence rate, an increase from last week.

The states flu activity is considered minimal. While they have had students, staff in quarantine, riverside hasn’t had to transition online.

Ziegler says he is hopeful to continue in-person learning.

“We’re very cautious about it, and I think we are taking lots of steps to try and prevent it,” according to Ziegler. “I don’t come to school worried every single day. I come to school hoping our parents, our students, and staff, that we all make good decisions with how they would handle this.”

Ziegler says he couldn’t do this school year without his teachers.

He says they are helping clean classrooms and enforcing the mask policy.

Ziegler also praises their students for following the new rules.