Dear ISB Community,
The school year has begun smoothly and we are all really happy to have students with us again. Thank you for all of your help and cooperation.
Our Crisis Response Team has been reviewing the COVID-19 situation in Thailand and in the ISB community.
- Thus far, the number of positive student cases is relatively low (23 since school began on 15th August)
- Most positive cases are detected when a person is symptomatic and not through the weekly ATK tests scheduled for Sundays
- Thailand, along with most nations, has loosened restrictions in response to higher levels of protection and the current dominant variant. The CDC document linked here provides helpful context.
Current government guidance focuses upon stipulates mask use in indoor spaces, physical distancing, good hygiene, and staying home if ill or symptomatic.
ATK Requirement Change
As we continue to move in the direction of a “living with COVID” approach, the following change will shortly take place.
After the ATK test on Sunday 28th August, we will no longer require weekly ATK testing. Instead, we will ask parents to supervise ATK testing of students in the following circumstances:
- if the student is symptomatic,
- prior to taking part in overnight school trips,
- following holidays (October Break & Winter Break)
- and on other occasions designated by the school (certain large events, rise in positive cases, etc)
The weekly (Sunday) self declaration for students and staff will still be required and parents will need to complete a self declaration prior to coming on campus. We recommend maintaining a supply of ATKs at home.
Please note that should the situation within our community or Thailand change, or a more severe variant develop, we may return to previously used safety measures to keep our community safe.
If anyone has questions, please reach out to any of us below.
All the best,
Andy
0818516277
Andy Davies (Head of School) andrewd@isb.ac.th
Dhave Setabutr, M.D., (Director of Health Center) dhaves@isb.ac.th
Usa Somboon (Headmistress) usomboon@isb.ac.th
Mark Hevland (Director of Risk Management) markh@isb.ac.th
Debi Caskey (Deputy Head of School for Learning) debic@isb.ac.th
Marc de Vries (Deputy Head of School/CFO) marcd@isb.ac.th
Justin Alexander (HS Principal) justina@isb.ac.th
Dennis Harter (MS Principal) dennish@isb.ac.th
Michael Allen (ES Principal) michaela@isb.ac.th
Rebecca Lau (Director of Admissions) rebecca@isb.ac.th