JIC Release No. 10 - Two Schools to Remain Closed; Harvest Christian Academy to Resume Classes on Tuesday

JIC Release No. 10 - Two Schools to Remain Closed; Harvest Christian Academy to Resume Classes on Tuesday

Two Schools to Remain Closed; Harvest Christian Academy to Resume Classes on Tuesday

The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), in consultation with the Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS), announces that Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School (OCPES) and Agueda Johnston Middle School (AIJMS) will remain closed on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez is canceling classes at both campuses in order to complete ongoing mitigation efforts, to include clearing debris near ponding basins and vegetation overgrowth.

Additionally, DPHSS will continue gathering mosquito traps for the two GDOE schools to test for the presence of the dengue virus. Classes are expected to resume for both schools on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.

Harvest Christian Academy (HCA) will resume classes on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. HCA was sprayed with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved insecticides over the weekend following a confirmed case of the dengue virus.

All Guam Department of Education (GDOE) schools have been notified to adjust their uniform policies to allow students to wear long sleeved shirts and pants for the duration of active dengue cases.

No New Confirmed Cases
To date, there remain seven​ confirmed locally acquired cases of the dengue virus.

How to Help with Mosquito Control Efforts
The DPHSS Event Community Health Outreach (ECHO) team continues to contact residents within high-risk areas (200-meter radius of a confirmed case) to educate them on the dengue virus as well as seek consent for spraying in and around their homes.

The community is reminded to do their part to minimize the spread the dengue virus. While insecticide spraying is done initially in areas identified as high-risk, it is only a temporary solution. Without removing breeding sites, mosquitoes can return. Insecticide spraying can also be ineffective if overused. Residents are urged to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites by applying insect repellant and wearing light-colored long sleeved shirts and pants.

The Guam community can reduce the number of new mosquitoes that carry dengue by eliminating the places they lay eggs. DPHSS mosquito surveillance suggests that Aedes albopictus​ is the mosquito spreading dengue on Guam. Aedes albopictus​ lays its eggs in natural and artificial water holding containers, such as tree holes, coconuts, bromeliads, water barrels, coconuts, trash, closed gutters, tarps, and tires. Generally,A. albopictus does not reproduce in large bodies of water such as ponding basins and reservoirs.

For more information, visit https://ghs.guam.gov/,or contact the Joint Information Center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (671) 478-0208/09/10. If there is an emergency, dial 911.

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