Pennsbury Schools To Ramp Up Coronavirus Response

FALLSINGTON, PA — The Pennsbury School District is preparing to ramp up its response to the spread of the new coronavirus, its superintendent said Thursday.

In a letter to the school community, Superintendent William Gretzula said the district will be putting plans in place to slow the spread of the virus "as soon as reasonably possible."

He said specific plans will be announced by noon on Friday. But they are likely to include enhanced cleaning, travel restrictions, canceling community events at Pennsbury schools, loosening attendance requirements for students, faculty and staff and limiting school access to community members and volunteers.

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"As this is an extremely fluid situation, we anticipate directives may need to shift and we will continue to communicate our efforts to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 throughout the district and county," Gretzula said in the letter.

Currently, there are no plans to close schools for an extended time, Gretzula said.

"We will only close if we have a positive case or a specific exposure, and only after careful consideration and coordination with the Pennsylvania and Bucks County departments of health," he said.

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Earlier Thursday, T.R. Kannan, president of Pennsbury's school board, also said district officials are working to make coronavirus plans.

"Decisions needs to be made regarding school events, school sponsored travel and even attendance rules when parents don’t feel comfortable sending their child to school," Kannan wrote on Facebook. "All of this is being looked into and the district will continue to communicate on a regular basis with the community. The safety of our children, staff and community is foremost on our mind."