Skip to main content
Students & Parents » COVID Snapshot

COVID Snapshot

The Burke County School District is monitoring the state of public health in our schools and will report the number of active COVID-19 positive cases and resulting quarantines in our schools to the public via the district website and Facebook each Monday.

 

One of the main concerns of the nurses is keeping our BC staff and students healthy. Mitigating strategies and recommendations by the Georgia DOE and DPH have been put in place to help us reduce the spread of COVID-19 among our BC Community. (See Georgia's Path to Recovery for K-12 Schools).

 

We will notify affected students’ parents/guardians as well as employees when they have been exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Exposure means an individual was within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes of cumulative time including 48-hours prior to the affected individual showing signs/symptoms or having a positive test (if asymptomatic).

 

If an individual’s exposure to a student or employee who has tested positive meets the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (GDPH) requirements for mandated precautionary quarantine, parents/guardians and affected employees will be advised immediately. A precautionary quarantine does not mean that an individual is sick or will become sick; rather, it is a GDPH-mandated practice, fully supported by the Burke County School District, to best ensure the safety of the student or employee, as well as those teaching and learning around them.

 

Students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19 must not return to school until they meet the GDPH’s Return to School Guidance After COVID-19 Illness or Exposure. 

 

Additionally, students and staff must not come to school with a fever of 100.4 or higher and may not return to school until they have been fever-free, without the use of fever-reducing medication, for at least 24 hours.

Screening is Important
 
Conducting regular screening for symptoms and ongoing self-monitoring can help reduce exposure. Teachers, staff, and students are encouraged to self-monitor for any symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath. If a student or staff member develops symptoms throughout the day, they MUST notify an adult/the school nurse immediately. More information on how to monitor for symptoms is available from the CDC. 
 
Our school nurses keep a daily log of teachers, staff, and students who did not attend school due to COVID-19-related illness or were sent home due to displaying COVID-19 symptoms. The nurses are responsible for reporting cases to district public health officials as well as contract tracing within the school system.