FROM STAFF REPORTS
All Yukon Schools classes and activities have been canceled for Friday due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
The Yukon Schools website reads:
“Placing the safety and well-being of our students and employees as a top priority, classes and district-hosted activities have been canceled for Friday, March 13. It is important to note that there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yukon Public Schools.”
Suzanne Cannon, a licensed professional counselor in Yukon, talked about the public’s reaction and growing anxiety about the coronavirus.
People she has seen in the last two weeks in her practice and across the community have a wide range of feelings about virus – which has officially been declared a pandemic.
“I have visited with people who work in health care and they are not worried about themselves, but their vulnerable patients,” said Cannon, a Yukon School Board member.
Someone with a cruise planned leaving out of Seattle, Wash. was concerned but not yet ready to cancel the trip.
Some students are having some anxiety and others are very matter of fact about the virus, according to Cannon.
“Overall, the reaction of most of the people I’ve talked to is anxious,” she said. “People are trying to make sense of the contradictory information coming from the government while at the same time using common sense and doing what is necessary to mitigate exposure where they can.
“Oklahomans are pragmatic and not prone to overreaction. We live with tornadoes, earthquakes and various other weather elements out of our control. This is another one of those instances.”
The Yukon school district statement also reads: “Our current plan is for students to return on Monday, March 23rd. If that changes, we will directly notify our families and staff. In addition to our current procedures, YPS personnel will take further measures to thoroughly disinfect our facilities to provide the safest possible environment for our students and employees.
We are adhering to guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and have created a webpage to keep our families up to date that can be found on our website at www.yukonps.com > Family & Students section or directly at: https://www.yukonps.com/family_students/coronavirus.
Please note the following:
- No employees are to report to work on Friday, March 13th. –
- SAT exam for March 14th as scheduled. –
- OSSAA has postponed all basketball tournaments. –
- Out-of-State travel has been canceled through April 3rd.
- YPS buildings will be closed to employees between March 18th-22nd with the exception of those regularly scheduled to work during Spring Break and those who have extra-curricular student responsibilities. –
- If you are traveling to California, Florida, Nebraska, New York, Texas or Washington, the U.S Department Of Health and the Oklahoma State Department of Health have identified these states as high incident areas. The Oklahoma State Department of Health recommends additional monitoring and extra precautions be taken.”
