STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV) – Some Bulloch County students and staffers are being quarantined due to positive COVID-19 cases just one week into the new school year.
According to Bulloch County Schools, a total of nine cases have been reported, and in total, 127 students an employees have been directed to quarantine.
News 3 is told at least one employee and one student have contracted the virus, however, citing privacy concerns, the district will not continue to release those details.
The cases and number of students and/or staffers quarantined is as follows:
- Langston Chapel Middle School: 1 case, 25 quarantined on Aug. 19
- Mattie Lively Elementary School: 1 case, 7 quarantined on Aug. 19
- Nevils Elementary School: 1 case, 19 quarantined on Aug. 19
- Portal Elementary School:
- 1 case, 7 quarantined on Aug. 19
- 2 cases, 24 quarantined on Aug. 20
- Statesboro High School: 1 case, 16 quarantined on Aug. 24
- Stilson Elementary School
- 1 case, 13 quarantined on Aug. 24
- 1 case; 16 quarantined on Aug. 24
For the notifications that came during school hours, officials say each school immediately identified students who had close contact with the infected individuals, quarantined them in the school, and contacted their parents to pick them up.
“All other students are safe to remain and return to school,” a statement from the school system reads. “There is no need to pick up your child from school unless you were contacted by the school to do so, and you do not have to quarantine your child or keep them from returning to school unless you were contacted by the school to do so.”
The students who have been quarantined are directed to stay at home for 14 days. They will receive instruction from their teachers via the district’s Google Classroom and Google Meets tools.
Meanwhile, the schools have temporarily closed the areas where the COVID-19 positive individuals were present for deep cleaning.
On Friday, Superintendent Charles Wilson revised how Bulloch County Schools will communicate information on known COVID-19 cases.
“After further discussion with the Department of Public Health (DPH), our school nurses, our school district’s public relations director, and reliable media resources, as well as further consideration of community feedback, I have modified our communication plans related to COVID-19,” Wilson said.
“We believe that this will still allow us as an employer to protect the individual privacy of our employees, and as a public education provider, the privacy of our students,” he added. “We will continue to partner with the DPH in the way they have asked us to, and responsibly provide information to our community at large.
When school started on Monday, Aug. 17, 54% of students (or roughly 5,900 students) returned for in-person learning. Approximately 1,500 employees are on campus.
The district has provided a daily reference guide for families of students attending school face-to-face to stop the spread of COVID-19.
