School closures in RI areas may have a significant impact on a community. Given limited qualified substitute staff in the community, the school may not be able to implement a business continuity cycle if there is a high attack rate and staff are off sick. Hence, the school closure may be longer than in urban communities.

Strategies to consider:

• Where systems are in place, schools in coordination with the public health authority should participate in active school based illness surveillance in order to identify outbreaks or unusual situations such as when absenteeism of students/children or staff is greater than would be expected, or severe illness is observed.
• Schools should develop business continuity plans specific to their unique community needs.
• Refer to school guidance^Footnotex for prevention and mitigation strategies in school settings.