The number of confirmed cases and those quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus in Franklin County Schools has dropped significantly over the last two weeks. The school system has also announced a new protocol for employees who have been exposed to the virus.
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This chart, released Tuesday on the Franklin County Schools System’s Facebook page, shows the steady decline in the number of confirmed cases and faculty and students quarantined due to exposure to the coronavirus.
CARNESVILLE – The number of confirmed cases and those quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus in Franklin County Schools has dropped significantly over the last two weeks.
The school system has also announced a new protocol for employees who have been exposed to the virus.
The weekly release of the COVID-19 statistics Tuesday showed decreases in almost every category in the last two weeks.
The total number of students with known current positive status has decreased from six on Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 to one as of Tuesday.
The total number of students currently quarantined for known possible exposure has continued to decrease from 125 to 117 to now 33.
Franklin County Schools Superintendent Chris Forrer thanked the public for joining the system in continuing efforts to keep students safe.
There has been a slight increase in the total number of employees with a known current positive status.
On Sept. 15, there were three. It went down to zero last week, but is at one as of Tuesday.
The total number of employees currently quarantined for known possible exposure is at its lowest since the school system began reporting its COVID-19 case numbers.
There are currently no employees currently quarantined for known possible exposure.
Employees of the system now have more options in dealing with exposure to the virus.
Faculty and staff members have been deemed “essential workers” by the system.
“The state has said whether or not school employees are considered essential workers is a local decision,” Forrer said at a school board meeting last month. “No employee will be forced to come off quarantine if they don’t feel it’s in their best interest. This is just giving employees the option if they don’t have any symptoms and feel like they can and want to come to work.”
Employees who are asymptomatic with known exposure to COVID-19 working in critical infrastructure can return to work if they follow the following:
• employer prescreens employee prior to employee’s building entry,
• employee monitors temperature and symptoms,
• employee wears mask for 14 days after last exposure,
• employee practices social distancing while at work where able and
• both employee and employer routinely disinfect and clean impacted work spaces.
If the employee becomes sick during the day, the employer will send the employee home, clean and disinfect work spaces and compile a list of contacts as outlined in CDC’s Interim Guidance Protocol.
The protocols for employees who are symptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 and those who are asymptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 are determined by whether or not they have mild or moderate illness and are not severely immunocompromised or they have severe to critical illness or severely immunocompromised.
Employees who are symptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 with mild or moderate illness and are not severely immunocompromised can return to work after a minimum of 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, a minimum of 24 hours have passed since last fever without medications and symptoms have improved.
Employees who are symptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 with severe to critical illness or severely immunocompromised can return to work after a minimum of 20 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, a minimum of 24 hours have passed since last fever without medications and symptoms have improved.
Asymptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 employees who are not severely immunocompromised can return to work after a minimum of 10 days have passed since positive lab test and they remain asymptomatic.
Asymptomatic with confirmed COVID-19 employees who are severely immunocompromised can return to work after a minimum of 20 days have passed since positive lab test and they remain asymptomatic.
The school system is requiring employees to also sign a statement saying they are personally choosing to be designated as an essential working and have read, understood and agree to follow the return to work guidelines.
Forrer and other superintendents had previously requested that the state include school employees as essential workers.
Franklin County as a whole has had 752 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 79 confirmed in the last two weeks, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Of those tested in Franklin County, 9.5 percent have tested positive.
There have been 13 deaths in the county contributed to the coronavirus.