Farmington Hills school informs parents a teacher has coronavirus
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A school in Farmington Hills has alerted its parents that one of its teachers has tested presumptive positive for the coronavirus COVID-19.
FOX 2 has obtained a copy of a letter sent to parents at Hillel Day School Friday morning, in which they were informed that a teacher at their 1-2 Learning Community tested positive.
Hillel Day School is a Jewish school that provides child care for children as young as 18 months and an education for students up to grade 8. It is located on Middlebelt Road, just south of 14 Mile Road.
The interim head of school, Naty Katz, said the school will be closed beginning today, Friday March 13, and will remain closed until further notice following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's declaration Thursday night.
Whitmer declared that all Michigan school buildings K-12 should close beginning Monday, March 16 through Monday, April 6 in efforts to slow the reach of new cases.
It's unclear right now where the teacher lives or which of the 12 confirmed patients in Michigan he or she is.
Thursday evening the number of confirmed cases in Michigan jumped from 2 to 12. The cases range from the metro Detroit area to Ingham County to Kent County. All have a history of domestic or foreign travel except one in Oakland County.
Oakland County released a list of potential exposure sites related to its three patients.
Since cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Michigan, there's been a wave of business closures, sporting event suspensions and school cancelations in efforts to slow the spread.
Symptoms for coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. These, of course, are similar to the common cold and flu.
Expect a common cold to start out with a sore or scratchy throat, cough, runny and/or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly, and can include a high fever.
Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear more slowly. They usually include fever, a dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. A minority of cases develop pneumonia, and the disease is especially worrisome for the elderly and those with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or heart conditions.
RELATED: Is it the flu, a cold or COVID-19? Different viruses present similar symptoms
Right now there's one big difference between flu and coronavirus: A vaccine exists to help prevent the flu and it's not too late to get it. It won't protect you from catching the coronavirus but may put you in a better position to fight it.
To protect yourself, wash your hands well and often, keep them away from your face, and avoid crowds and standing close to people.
And if you do find yourself showing any of these flu or coronavirus symptoms - don't go straight to your doctor's office. That just risks making more people sick, officials urge. Call ahead, and ask if you need to be seen and where.
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