County health department: No secondary COVID-19 transmissions reported in K-12

Department of Health Administrator Paul Myers announced to the Alachua Board of County Commission that as of Sept. 22, there have been zero secondary transmissions of COVID-19 in schools throughout Alachua County

“That may change, but we hope that holds,” Myers said and explained how the DOH is monitoring cases as he displayed a chart titled “COVID-19 Monitoring by School.” Secondary transmission is when a virus spreads between a teacher or staff or student. 

 

The bar chart gave counts for each school of students or staff being monitored.

 

According to Myers, monitoring means, “A person who presented at a school clinic, provided a lab result from a PCP (primary care physician), was identified as a contact to a person under investigation, or a person under investigation. 

“Basically any student or staff that came to the attention of the department from whom some action was initiated,” Myers said.

 

Schools with one case being monitored as of Sept. 22 are Santa Fe, Newberry High, Newberry Elementary, Meadowbrooke, Manning, Lincoln, Hidden Oak, Cornerstone Academy, and Chiles.

 

Glen Springs had two people being monitored.

 

Talbot, Resilience Charter, Rawlings, Gainesville High and Eastside had three cases being monitored.

 

Fort Clarke had 5, Terwilliger and Howard Bishop had sic, Littlewood had 8, Idylwild had 9, Wiles had 10, both Shell and Kanapaha had 11.

Irby had 15, Buchholz had 16 and Stephen Foster had 19.

 

On the chart Hawthorne Middle/High showed 37 cases being monitored and Myers explained that an entire sports team is being tested, and last week its game with Middleburg High was canceled.

 

Myers said his K-12 team of contact tracers are hard at work making sure they track down anyone exposed to a case.

 

“They are very busy keeping up and attempting contact within 24 hours,” he said.

 

“Our role is to facilitate the scientific advisory committee,” Myers said about monitoring the K-12 schools in Alachua County.

 

“We made it a priority to respond if a symptomatic child presents to the nurse,” he said. “This is why we are driving to the Jacksonville lab every day.”

Myer said couriers are running to the Jacksonville lab several times in order to kee lab results coming in within 24 to 36 hours.

 

Myers said, “Hopefully this virus will relent and we’ll go back to business. As of yesterday there are no confirmed secondary transmissions in private, public or charter schools.

 

On the Alachua Public School District dashboard as of Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. the cases were reported as follows:

Since Aug. 18th there have been 25 students and 25 staff positive cases of COVID-19. Alachua Elementary reported 1 staff, Chiles Elementary reported 1 staff, Duval reported a halftime employee, Foster Elementary reported 1 student, Hidden Oak Elementary reported 4 staff, High Springs Community reported 1 staff, Idylwild Elementary reported 1 student, Irby Elementary reported 2 students and 1 staff, Lake Forest Elementary reported 1 student, Littlewood reported 1 student and 1 staff, Meadowbrook Elementary reported 1 staff, Metcalfe reported 1 halftime staff, Newberry Elementary reported 2 staff, Norton Elementary reported 1 halftime staff, Rawling Elementary reported 1 staff, Talbot Elementary reported 1 halftime staff, Terwilliger Elementary reported 2 students, Wiles Elementary reported 1 student, Bishop Middle School reported 1 student and 1 staff, as did Ft. Clarke, and Hawthorne.

 

Kanapaha Middle School reported 2 students, Buchholz High reported 4 students and 1 staff, Eastside High reported 3 students, Gainesville High reported 1 student, Newberry High reported two students and two staff, Santa Fe High reported 1 student.

 

Total students and staff in self-isolation are 74.

 

Visit the Alachua Public School District case dashboard here.