Gov. Declares State of Emergency Over COVID-19, Fairview Lacks Enough Cleaning Supplies

Henry Larson

In addition to supplying the school with 58 bottles of wipes, BVSD tacked this poster to the front column at the top of the school.

Henry Larson and Maia Penuel
March 10, 2020

Tuesday, March 10th, Governor Jared Polis announced he was declaring a state of emergency to combat the novel coronavirus.

Colorado now has a total of 19 presumptive positive cases of the disease, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment(CDPHE). 

The announcement, which Polis made in a press conference this morning, comes after Colorado announced three new people who tested presumptively positive this afternoon.

“Our top priority is protecting public health and our vulnerable population which is why we are taking swift, bold action,” Polis said.

So far, no cases of COVID-19, the scientific term for coronavirus, have been reported in Boulder County. However, the CU Independent reported that CU Boulder is currently waiting on two tests of people at the university.

Cleaning supplies for Fairview started to arrive today, but Principal Don Stensrud raised concerns about their smaller quantities.

Fairview received 58 containers of Clorox wipes, each with 160 wipes apiece today. The amount isn’t enough for every room or faculty member at the school to have wipes.

Stensrud said he would prioritize placing the wipes in the Inclusive Learning Center, the Catering kitchens and computer labs.

The district also delivered one hand sanitizer station, with several refills. It has yet to be installed.

In a tweet, district officials said that they are, “in communication with our partners in public heath and will provide updates as they become available.”

Amy Dupee, the Principal’s secretary, pushed an email to Fairview community members today. The email encouraged students to stay home if they’re sick and addressed some “housekeeping” concerns.

“We continue to work with our custodial staff to make sure that we are deep cleaning the building every night. In addition, we are constantly checking all restrooms to make sure that they have soap, teachers are wiping down desks, keypads, doorknobs during the day and we are installing 5 wall mounted hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the building,” the email said.