Mount Vernon Free Pre‘‘ THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2020 - BRIAN HARROD PUBLISHER Two Mount Vernon School Students Are In Quarantine With Their Family Mount Vernon Closes Schools Over COVID-19 Concerns By BRIAN HARROD MOUNT VERNON, NY: Schools in Mount Vernon will be closed Thursday and Friday over novel coro- navirus issues. Two students in the district, who are in the same family, have been quarantined with their family over possible COVID-19 exposure. One student attends Columbus School and the other attends Rebecca Turner Elementary School. The children are not showing any symptoms, their doctor told the school district. " Out of an abundance of cau- tion, the district has closed all school buildings and offices effective imme- diately and the schools will be com- pletely cleaned and disinfected, " offi- cials wrote on the school site. " It is anticipated that the build- ings will reopen on Monday under a normal schedule, once the cleaning program is complete. " The quarantined students will not be attending school for at least the next two weeks. Neither student has shown any symptoms of the contagious virus known as COVID-19. The closures are all related to a 50-year-old New Rochelle man who tested positive for the new coron- avirus and is currently hospitalized. The number of confirmed coron- avirus cases in New York has grown to 11. The 50-year-old New Rochelle man and his family tested positive for coronavirus, along with the neighbor who drove him to the hospital. The Mount Vernon City School District is coordinating its response efforts in concert with the City of Mount Vernon and New York State. Earlier Wednesday, Hastings-on- Hudson School District announced closures over COVID-19 concerns. Westchester County Executive George Latimer is urging everyone to remain calm. The CDC recommends preventive actions to help avoid spreading respi- ratory diseases, such as: Avoid close contact with people who are sick Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth Stay home if sick Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue away