Dear YULA Family,
As of today, we have been informed that one student and one staff member of our YULA Boys community has been tested for COVID-19. The results are not in and won’t be known for 2-3 days. To the best of our knowledge, neither person was symptomatic when in contact with members of the YULA community.
As you are aware, this pandemic is fast moving and protocols and policies both here in LA and around the country are shifting and changing daily. We continue to monitor this fluid and rapidly changing situation and will continue to update you as we learn more.
With that being said, we wish to share an update with you per our latest communication with the Department of Health and the Acute Communicable Disease Bureau. This evening we have been told by the Department of Health that they are strongly recommending and urging all families to practice
social distancing
as our new norm until they can get a handle on this virus.
Social distancing means that you do everything you can to have no unnecessary contact with anyone outside of your immediate family. You can still go shopping, you can still go to work, if necessary, you can still go on walks, but you should do everything you can to have no social contact outside of your immediate family.
This means that families should be staying home, should be minimizing all social contact with non-family members other than out of necessity. There should be no play dates, no Shabbat meals together and no teens hanging out in a backyard together -- even if it is just two kids together.
In addition, everyone should be monitoring themselves for symptoms which include a fever, cough, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms then you should self-quarantine and call your doctor. The recommendation is to stay home until you no longer feel ill or for 14 days, whichever is longer.
Only a person who is ill and has tested positive for COVID-19 should be in isolation.
These are the latest guidelines we have received from the Department of Health and they apply to everyone equally in our YULA Community - students, parents, faculty and staff. Obviously, none of our communications are a substitute for people seeking guidance directly from their health care providers and you should continue to monitor the CDC website daily for updates.
We know that these guidelines and new protocols are challenging and will pose difficulties for many families and
we are nevertheless strongly encouraging and asking our entire YULA community to abide by these rules and lead by example for the entire LA Jewish community.
Thank you and may we only hear
B’Sorot Tovot
.
