Murrieta Valley High School will be closed starting Monday, March 9 after an employee was tested for coronavirus, according to Murrieta Valley USD school officials.
The school will remain closed until the testing of the affected employee is complete, officials said. During the closure, the school will be disinfected.
The employee allegedly traveled to a country with a known coronavirus outbreak recently. Since traveling to the country, at least 71 students may have come in contact with the person. Public health officials issued an exclusion orders to those students and asked them to self-quarantine.
"While I want to reassure the students, families and staff at MVHS that the risk of transmission is low, I support the school district’s decision to temporarily close the school until testing is complete," said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer.
School officials advised students and staff to continue to take precautions at school and at home by frequently washing your hands, sneezing into a tissue and keeping surfaces clean. The school advised staying at home if you are sick with flu-like symptoms such as a fever or coughing.
"The health and safety of our students is our first concern. This decision was made is to ensure their health," said Murrieta Valley Unified School District Superintendent Pat Kelley.
Officials directed questions to mvusdinfo@mvusd.org. District personnel will be available to answer questions from parents at 951-304-1795 Saturday between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
