By Taylor Boyd
As COVID-19 cases are still appearing in the school system and community on a steady schedule, Patrick County Public Schools Acting Superintendent Dr. David Martin discussed the school division’s mitigation plan at the Oct. 14 school board meeting.
Martin said the division saw an average of 217 quarantines, and an average of 71 positive individuals each week between August 24 and September 8.
“Since September 15, the weekly average of quarantined students and staff members is 115, and the weekly average of positive individuals is 34,” he said.
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Martin said the division is practicing universal masking, daily screening, social distancing to the greatest extend possible, and increased sanitation.
“We have a custodial staff that has done a phenomenal job in our buildings. We have installed air purification systems, and are diligent in contract tracing,” he said.
Because of the importance of having students in the classroom, Martin said the division also offers two early return to school options in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
“An individual may return after 10 days if they have remained symptom-free for the duration of their quarantines,” he said.
Students and staff can also return after seven days if they have a negative test result between days five and seven.
“All three quarantine options have been utilized by families this year,” he added.
The ability to maintain in-person learning has been helped by two key scenarios, he said. The first is those who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine if exposed.
“We approximate that 50 percent of Patrick County Public Schools staff members are fully vaccinated at this time,” he said.
The second scenario is students in grades K-12 who follow masking guidelines also are not required to quarantine if they are in close contact with a person with COVID-19 who also is masked.
“Patrick County Public Schools continues to monitor guidance and updates from the VDH and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” he said.
As of Wednesday, Oct. 13 the Patrick County Public Schools dashboard suggested there were 30 positive cases and 121 quarantines in the school system.
The dashboard suggested there were 11 cases and 38 quarantines at Patrick County High School, and five positive cases and 55 students and staff in quarantine were reported for Blue Ridge Elementary School.
Stuart Elementary School was reported to have eight confirmed cases seven people in quarantine. Patrick Springs Primary School and Woolwine Elementary School each reported eight quarantines.
The data shows that Hardin Reynolds Memorial School has no positive cases and four in quarantine, and the SBO/Departments has one case and no quarantines.
The Patrick County Public School COVID-19 Dashboard is updated by the close of business each Wednesday. It can be viewed at www.patrick.k12.va.us/families/covid-19_dashboard.
In Henry County Public Schools, data suggested that as of Oct. 15 there were 17 positive cases and 84 quarantines. There were 14 new student cases and three new staff cases for the week.
The data suggests GW Carver Elementary School has five positive cases and 18 students and staff in quarantine, the highest case rate in the division. Drewry Mason Elementary School has the highest quarantine rate with 24, and has four people in quarantine.
Magna Vista High School has two confirmed cases and 10 in quarantine; Bassett High School has one confirmed case and four in quarantine.
The data suggests Axton Elementary School, Rich Acres Elementary School, and Sanville Elementary School have a combined quarantine count of five but no confirmed cases.
Meadow View Elementary School is the only school in the division to have no confirmed cases or people in quarantine.
The Henry County Public School division dashboard is updated every Friday by the end of the business day. It can be viewed at www.henry.k12.va.us/Page/22823.
Martinsville City Public Schools reported 13 confirmed cases among its students, and three confirmed cases among its employees, as of Friday, Oct. 15.
Seven of the positive cases are in Martinsville Middle School, and all the other schools have two confirmed cases each. The school system’s CO/Bus Division/Maintenance has one confirmed case of a staff member.
The dashboard can be viewed at www.martinsville.k12.va.us/division-updates/covid-19/covid-19-data-dashboard.
