Student tests positive for COVID-19 on first day back to school
Image: Facebook/Greenfield-Central Junior High School
A student tested positive for the coronavirus on the first day of classes for the academic year 2020 to 2021 in Indiana, United States.
Officials at the Greenfield-Central Junior High School found out about the child’s (name withheld) test results when they reopened the campus last Thursday, July 30.
Staff immediately carried out their “Positive COVID-19 Test Protocol” after learning of the student’s health status, as per Fox-affiliate WXIN on the same day.
The protocol included isolating the child in an area within the school’s clinic. The student did not finish the whole day of classes.
Officials also checked the pupil’s class schedule, including transportation and extra-curricular activities, to assess which members of the school would be considered a close contact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a close contact as any person who is within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.
“We understand that this information will cause concern for some of you,” superintendent Dr. Harold E. Olin said in the report. “It was very evident today that nearly all of our families and students were prepared to properly follow the safety protocols we have established.”
He then stressed the importance of following the school’s protocols against COVID-19, saying it is “essential for maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff.” Olin later assured the public that the staff is “working hard in Greenfield-Central to control the variables we can control in our schools.”
“Our job becomes exponentially more difficult when students come to school without meeting the expectations of the [self-screening] tool we’ve asked families to complete each day,” he added.
Olin reiterated that the campus has initiated its protocols in place for positive COVID-19 cases. According to the report, he also described the incident on the first day of classes as a “bump in the road” to their process of reentry to the school.
Meanwhile, the school advises parents that they should not let their kids go to school if the child has had direct contact with a person who tested COVID-19 positive in the last 14 days, has been ordered by medical professionals to self-quarantine, has any COVID-19 symptoms, or has undergone COVID-19 testing and has not received the results.
They also reminded parents that if the Hancock County Health Department or a Greenfield-Central Nurse did not call them on Thursday, their child was not identified as a close contact to the pupil who tested positive for COVID-19.
The school, as per report, will be professionally disinfecting the whole campus every evening while giving special attention to the areas the infected child occupied. Ryan Arcadio/JB
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