The Louisiana Center for the Blind is committed to promoting the health and safety of all students, staff, and visitors. We daily review recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as from state and local health officials to ensure that we are following the latest recommendations for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. We discuss these guidelines regularly with our staff and students. These precautions include:

• Washing hands often and thoroughly and refraining from touching face
• using hand sanitizer, placed strategically around the buildings in multiple locations
• Wiping/disinfecting surfaces and cleaning frequently
• Staying home when sick
• Covering mouth when coughing/sneezing and disposing of tissues properly.

Current Status
We are continuing to accept new referrals and welcome new students. We are a small agency and have 20 to 30 students at a time. Since we are small in numbers and thus the risk factors are low, we plan to continue classes as usual, while closely monitoring risk factors in relation to local conditions.

Contingency Planning
At this time, no staff or student has been identified or suspected of having COVID-19. In accordance with CDC, state and local health agency recommendations, however, we will implement the following in the event that one or more of our staff or students is suspected of or tests positive for COVID-19, in addition to isolating the individual or individuals with coronavirus/COVID-19:

1. If one individual is identified as having COVID-19, we will close our center for 72 hours and conduct a deep cleaning.
2. If two or more individuals are identified as having COVID-19, we will close the center for two weeks, as well as conducting a deep cleaning.

In the event that classes at the center’s main facility are canceled, we will make provisions to continue daily teaching and learning via individual telephone calls and larger Zoom workshops with students as appropriate. We will provide needed support for students and staff to promote good health and well-being. Finally, we will continue to provide updates about any changes through our website, e-mail, and on social media channels.

Please reach out to me if you have questions. Thank you for your trust and confidence.

Sincerely,

Pamela Allen
Executive Director
318-251-2891
pallen@louisianacenter.org