In a Facebook post, Fortuna's Toddy Thomas Middle School Principal Mat Bigham announced the school would move to distance learning as soon as tomorrow after "one or more students" tested positive for COVID-19 and multiple students "may have been exposed."

According to the post, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders were exposed, and several fifth graders are currently showing symptoms of COVID-19.

The school was offering in-person classes but will now move to online instruction until Feb. 8.

If you are feeling any symptoms or have been exposed contact your doctor’s office or the county Department of Health and Human Services, which has a hotline that can be reached during business hours at 441-5000.

Basics of COVID-19

The California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, state that symptoms of novel coronavirus include cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or a new loss of taste or smell.

Emergency warning signs needing immediate medical attention include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to awaken, and bluish lips or face.

In an emergency situation:

Call ahead to the emergency room or inform the 911 operator of the possibility of a COVID-19 infection and, if possible, put on a face mask.

Symptoms or possible exposure:

In the case of a possible exposure with symptoms — fever and cough or shortness of breath — contact your doctor’s office or the county Department of Health and Human Services, which has a hotline that can be reached during business hours at [email protected] or at (707) 441-5000. Residents seeking medical advice or questions about testing are asked to contact Public Health at [email protected] or at (707) 445-6200.

St. Joseph Health has also set up a virtual assessment tool as an aid to assessing risk factors for contracting the illness, which can be found here.

Read the full Facebook post below.

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