‘Modified quarantine’ implemented
The Gilmer County School System has started to implement mitigation efforts with positive COVID-19 cases on the rise.
As of Tuesday morning, there are 127 positive cases in the school system and 116 are students. Additionally, 1,050 students are currently quarantined.
Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley plans to roll out safety measures in an incremental manner in an effort to “isolate the variable.” The first step the school system has taken is the requirement of masks/facial coverings for all staff and students on buses, effective Monday.
Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health Dr. Kathleen Toomey released new quarantine guidance last Thursday, and those changes were implemented at Gilmer schools Monday as well.
A new “modified” quarantine in place now allows students who are exposed to a close contact who is positive for COVID-19 to return to school as long as parents agree their child will wear a mask for the duration of their quarantine.
“This isn’t a mask mandate,” Ridley said Tuesday morning. “It just means that a kid who is otherwise being quarantined can come back to school and continue in-person learning as long as they have a mask on.
“What I want the public to understand, that every time we get new guidance, it means we have to retool all of our reporting. Of the 1,050 in quarantine, 162 of those kids have been marked as ‘modified’ so they’re back at school. That number is growing by the minute. Getting those kids back in school is a big win.”
Aside from modified, are “isolation” and “standard” quarantines. Isolation quarantine deals with students who test positive for COVID-19 or are symptomatic. They will still be subject to standard quarantine as determined by the DPH.
Students who are exposed to a close contact who is positive for COVID-19 still have the option of the standard quarantine at home for the appropriate number of days as determined by the DPH. Students who opt for standard quarantine at home will not be penalized.
Students in modified quarantine will have their temperature checked regularly and will be moved to standard quarantine if they become symptomatic or test positive.
“We’ve seen a huge spike with quarantines, but modified quarantines are getting our kids back in school and making it easier for parents to manage the situation and making it easier for us to continue to serve kids,” Ridley said. “We’re certainly not happy with quarantine, but that’s the DPH’s recommendations and guidance. I am concerned about the number of positives we’re seeing not just in schools but locally.”
Roughly 10 percent of Gilmer students quarantined have tested positive compared to fewer than 1 percent last year.
“That is concerning,” Ridley said. “We’re not aware of any students who are seriously ill, but there’s always that possibility. We do know several adults, including a couple of our employees, who are seriously ill and have been in the hospital.”
Ridley noted that masks on buses and for those in modified quarantine are “only a small part” of what the system is doing to keep students safe. Social-distancing protocols in classrooms and during lunches have been implemented. Classrooms and buses continue to receive “deep cleanings” and hand sanitizer is readily available. Cafeteria workers are subject to regular temperature checks.
“Masks are only part of the story,” Ridley said. “We don’t have a mask mandate but encourage it.”
Additionally, vaccinated students will not be quarantined following the 10th day after full vaccination. An exposed person with a documented COVID positive within the last 90 days will not be quarantined. Students who are masked during their exposure will not be quarantined.
“One of the unfortunate things about COIVD is it’s like trying to catch an alligator. It’s not going to sit still and let you catch it. We’re having to be real flexible. We started with masks on buses and we know the modified quarantine is going to drop our numbers, but technically those kids are still in quarantine. If we see that our numbers go down, and we’re not contact tracing cases back to buses, then we know that worked,” Ridley said.
“I understand people’s confusion and frustration. I’ve tried to be very transparent and upfront about everything we’re doing. When the guidance changes, all the criteria we based our plan on changes. The modified quarantine is a welcome thing to us. Keeping our schools open is a priority and this gets kids back in school, gets parents back to work and doesn’t have such a devastating economic effect on our county and still keeps kids safe.”