Gilmer County Schools welcomed students back to class last Friday.
Given the current situation of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic coupled with the normal hurdles of a new year, superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs was pleased with the first day.
During a Monday interview, Downs discussed some of the procedures when it comes to handling confirmed coronavirus cases within the system and how they plan to deal with those who have been exposed.
Once a student, teacher, faculty or staff member tests positive, the first step is a call from the health department.
“If we find out a child tests positive, what our protocol is, we send them home,” Downs said. “The department of public health (DPH) is supposed to call the individual as well. When we find out, that person cannot come to work or school until 10 days have passed and the person has been symptom free for 24 hours.”
Next is contact tracing and notifying all who have been exposed. Downs believes the brunt of that burden will fall on the system.
“In some ways we’ve been placed in a situation that I don’t think is a situation that should be ours,” she said.
“My understanding at first, was if a child tested positive for example, we would give a list of everybody that the child was in contact with to DPH and they would call them. I don’t know if I have complete faith in that process happening, so I’m afraid it’s going to fall to us more than we want it to.”
Downs discussed the contact tracing procedure, which will be aided by school cameras.
“If a student tests positive, in theory, the DPH is supposed to call us and let us know and then they’re supposed to ask which students were within six feet for 15 or more minutes. We can tell within a classroom who was within six feet of a child. In hallways, we’re asking people to wear masks. You shouldn’t be within six feet of anybody for 15 minutes during transitions.
“We are contact tracing. We have not had one yet, and I say yet because it could happen in the next 15 minutes, but we have not gotten a report of a child that we’ve had to trace back yet.”
To make contact tracing less tedious, Downs mentioned that assigned seating will be used in lunchrooms but was unsure if it had been fully implemented at all schools as of Monday afternoon.
Those exposed will be asked not to come back to school for 14 days. The school system has no authority to order those sent home to quarantine.
“I want to make sure we’re staying in our lane,” Downs said. “If we know there’s direct exposure, we’ll tell those students not to come back to school for 14 days.
“We have staff cases who are at home and we have student cases who are at home, but we have not yet had to contact trace. We’ve only had two days of school.”
As of press deadline, there are no plans to publicize a continual updated number of confirmed cases within the system.
“I feel like that’s the role of DPH to tell us as a community,” Downs said. “Whenever we get the list, a lot of times it’s just who has been exposed and not that they’ve even tested positive. There’s a big delay when someone gets tested and they get their results back. And you have all the privacy laws as well.
“We’re following guidance as far as sending people home. I don’t know a good effective way (of doing that) without sending people into a panic when you have one case or something. So we’re leaving all that part of it to DPH.”