COVID-19 Update for the AISL Community

The safety and well-being of our community is always our first priority. As such, you can rest assured that we have been actively monitoring the spread of COVID-19 around the world.  On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. This means that countries must now focus on containing the virus and actively preparing their health services to respond. AISL is following its Infectious Disease Response Protocol, which may lead to changes to programs or campus access as the situation unfolds.  Moving forward, it is critical that all AISL community members read all emails and messages from the school about COVID-19. 

Although there are not yet confirmed cases in Zambia, we are actively preparing for that eventuality. Here are some of the actions we have taken so far:
 

• Intensified cleaning/disinfecting schedules on campus
• Installed additional hand sanitizer stations around campus and on buses
• Installed additional soap-and-water handwashing stations around campus
• Expanded education around hygiene and hand-washing for students
• Reviewed our infectious disease protocols with staff
• Scheduled regular update meetings among the school’s leadership teams to respond to new information
• Cancelled or postponed all school-based international travel, including faculty professional development trips,  the ski trip, the French immersion trip, and the upcoming ISSEA events. 
• Communicated with the International Baccalaureate regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the Diploma Program exams and have begun planning for contingencies 

 
We are proceeding with the assumption that we may face a campus closure as this situation unfolds. Many campuses around the world have had to close. To prepare for this, we have been reviewing, revising, and testing our distance learning programs. In the case of a campus closure, we are ready to continue our educational programs online. We will send out more detailed information on this when necessary.
 
There are some important areas where we will need help from the parent community. Keeping our community safe is everyone’s responsibility. Please review and adhere to the following action items:

• Carefully read all announcements from the school regarding COVID-19.
• If you have traveled within or been exposed to someone who has traveled within a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Warning Level 3 country (currently China, Iran, South Korea, and most of Europe), please do not come to school or send your children to school until 14 symptom-free days have passed. The CDC recommends that you fully self-quarantine during that time. Here is information on COVID-19 symptoms.
• Regardless of travel, please keep your child at home if he/she has a fever or other illnesses.
• Please reinforce our message to your children about the importance of handwashing, hygiene, and minimizing unnecessary physical contact between people.
• Please review your home internet service to ensure that you will have reliable internet access if we are forced to move to a distance learning model.
• Please refrain from using social media to send information that could increase people’s anxiety unless you are 100% certain that the information is accurate. As we saw recently with the gassing incidents, panic and hysteria will exacerbate any situation and can create significant threats to safety and security.  Please also avoid sending information about medical treatments or preventive measures that have not been vetted by medical authorities. 

If you wish to learn more about COVID-19,  here are informative websites from the CDC and WHO. 

​