Information released Tuesday shows that three students – out of 3,592 – and seven staff members –out of 498 – have tested positive for the coronavirus. Seventy-eight students were quarantined due to possible exposure to the virus. Four staff members were also quarantined due to exposure, down from 26 in quarantine a week ago.
-
Franklin County Schools Superintendent Chris Forrer announced last week the school system will release the system’s COVID-19 numbers on a weekly basis.
CARNESVILLE – Franklin County Schools Superintendent Chris Forrer announced last week the school system will release the system’s COVID-19 numbers on a weekly basis.
The information will be released on Tuesday afternoons, with up-to-date information as of noon that day.
The information will be shared on the school system’s website (www.franklin.k12.ga.us) and its Facebook page.
The school system first released numbers on the effects of the coronavirus on the schools last week.
With the second release of numbers Tuesday, the way in which the information was provided changed.
“It is my hope that this new form will provide a better picture of what the district looks like as a whole and what the district looks like over time,” Forrer said in a Facebook post. “At this time, we cannot report this information by individual school due to privacy issues.”
Positive COVID-19 statuses and known possible exposures are being reported to affected parties in real time, according to Forrer.
The example he used was if a student in a classroom tests positive for COVID-19, any student who has been within six feet of the positive student for more than 15 minutes will receive a phone call and an exposure/quarantine letter the same day the positive test is reported.
All other students in that class will receive a non-exposure letter.
“We will continue to follow DPH (Department of Public Health) recommendations when dealing with positive cases,” Forrer said. “There has been no recommendation or even discussion about closing a school or shutting down in-person instruction. We are able to sanitize and deep clean any area where there is a positive case reported in the evening.”
Information released Tuesday shows that three students – out of 3,592 – and seven staff members –out of 498 – have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Those totals are the same as those reported last Thursday.
Seventy-eight students were quarantined due to possible exposure to the virus.
The school system has reported about 40 students have been quarantined after known exposure to a known case after a positive case was reported on Friday.
The number of middle and high school students who have to quarantine after a positive case is confirmed is higher than at the elementary schools due to class changes.
“This is an issue every county is experiencing at this time,” Forrer said. “In elementary schools, if there is a positive case, you only have five to seven kids who may have to quarantine. In middle school and high school, different class periods mean they come into contact with more of their classmates.”
Four staff members were also quarantined due to exposure, down from 26 in quarantine a week ago.
Forrer also said the system is keeping an eye on its COVID cases and is trying to keep the public as informed as possible.
As a whole, Franklin County has had 514 total confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, with 104 cases confirmed from Aug. 11-25, numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health published Tuesday show.
There have been 10 deaths from the virus confirmed by the state.
The positive rate for those tested in the last two weeks is 12.2 percent.