Coronavirus – it’s a word that most of us had never heard until just a few short months ago, yet now it’s everywhere on our news feed. It’s a word that’s brought fear into our world and made us all more than a little more cautious.

At Kids on Beaufort, we are taking Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) very seriously, and we want to reassure our parents and carers that we are on top of the latest information and are taking all necessary precautions.

Kids on Beaufort is acting on the latest information from Department of Health, and will continue to keep up to date with their advice.

The Facts on Coronavirus

• An outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in late December 2019.
• Since the initial outbreak, Coronavirus has spread to almost 100 countries, including Australia.
• Coronavirus is a respiratory illness. Symptoms range from a mild cough to pneumonia and can include fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue and shortness of breath.
• Some people recover easily, others may get very sick very quickly.
• There is evidence that it spreads from person to person by the virus touching the skin and being transmitted into the body via nose, moth or eyes.
• Good hygiene can prevent infection.
• While recorded deaths from 2019-nCoV across the world is over 3,800 people; in WA there has been one death. The majority of deaths are people with existing medical conditions and poor health.

Advice from Health Department

At this stage, the Department of Health is advising that parents of children are asked not to send their children to day care or school only if the child has returned from mainland China or Hong Kong within 14 days, even if they don’t have symptoms.  Although the risk to children is very low, this is a precautionary approach to ensure the safest possible environment for children.

What can we do to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus?

At Kids on Beaufort, some steps we are focusing on:

• Teaching and encouraging children to wash their hands often with soap and water before and after eating, as well as after attending the toilet;
• Teaching children to cough and sneeze into their elbow;
• Encouraging children to avoid too much contact with each other – no hugging, or sharing pillows or blankets for example.
• Increasing hygiene within the centre – more cleaning of the rooms, bathrooms, sleeping areas etc.
• Reminding and ensuring staff are carrying out safe hygiene practises also.
• Regularly cleaning toys and play equipment.

While we are all hoping for a quick end to this nasty virus, the staff at Kids on Beaufort will continue to do our best to keep children safe. But we need your help! We encourage parents to discuss good hygiene with your children, and please do keep them at home if they are unwell.

Together, let’s keep life going as normal as possible for the children, and lets all keep healthy and happy!

If you’d like more information on the Corona virus, you can visit the WA Department of Health homepage at https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/ or  the WA Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 300 243.