Two Searcy Elementary classrooms have individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and the school has switched to an Alternate Method of Instruction (AMI), according to a statement from school officials and the county health department.
The Gallatin R-5 School District and the Daviess County Health Department have been working jointly to identify, isolate, and quarantine the individuals who have been exposed to a positive COVID-19 case in two elementary school classrooms.
Due to the current circumstances, Covel D. Searcy Elementary will move to the district AMI plan located on the district website for the week of Sept. 8-11 in order to deep clean the school. Elementary students who have been previously contacted by the health department will continue to quarantine as directed. School will resume for face-to-face instruction for all other students on Sept. 14.
Information was given to the students regarding device distribution and packets.
Individuals who have not been contacted by the health department or the school are not a close contact.
Individuals who have been contacted must quarantine for 14 days and monitor for symptoms.
People with COVID-19 have a wide range of symptoms, from mild to severe, and symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus. People with symptoms of COVID-19 may experience fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, new loss of taste and smell, sore throat, congestion, and/or nausea or vomiting and diarrhea. Contact your healthcare provider if you develop any of these symptoms.
Please continue to practice preventable actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as social distancing, wearing a face covering over your mouth and nose, proper hand washing and hygiene, and most of all, please stay home if you are sick.
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Tri-County R-7 in Jamesport closed in-person classes for one day last week on Sept. 2 and held AMI for that day, due to a positive COVID-19 test in the elementary. The school was back to normal quickly afterwards.
The daycare in Jamesport is currently closed, but will reopen on Sept. 10. Other businesses in Jamesport which have closed due to the effects of COVID-19 one way or the other are Farm House Collection and Jamesport Candle Company.
According to David Roll, Daviess County Emergency Management Director, only individuals are tracked for COVID-19, case by case.
Just because an employee of a business has contracted COVID-19, it doesn’t mean the health department has recommended the business close.
If a business employee tests positive for the virus, the county health department can give recommendations about what steps the business can follow, such as deep cleaning, etc., and remain open.
In other words, a business may choose to close, not because a staff member has tested positive and been quarantined, but because there is not enough staff or employees to cover for that person’s absence.