Superintendent Weekly Press Release October 30, 2020

Superintendent Weekly Press Release October 30, 2020

Dear Cedar Bluffs Families,

COVID RISK LEVEL: ORANGE

For the Week of November 2nd, the COVID risk dial hits 2.00 and moves into Orange. Both Saunders and Dodge County move up from 1.75 to 2.00 and Washington stayed the same at 1.88.

TOTAL POSITIVE: 7-Students, 17-Parent(s)/Family Members, 12-Staff

THIS WEEK POSITIVE: 5-Students, 6-Parent(s)/Family Members, 8-Staff CURRENT QUARANTINE: 38

After last week having our first cases in the school, we continue to see more cases especially within our staff. By Monday we had eight total confirmed positive cases within our staff and another 6 staff members who requested testing on Tuesday with symptoms. We had one staff member with symptoms who had gotten a one-hour antigen test result of negative last week. When their symptoms didn’t go away, they were retested with the PCR lab test and it came back positive. It was then that Three Rivers decided we should re-test all of our staff that had gotten the one-hour test and test those that had current symptoms. Instead of sending that many staff members to different testing sites and getting results from different labs, Three Rivers recommended we do all of them at one site and open it up to all of our staff and our family members. Out of an abundance of caution we had 96 staff and family members register to be tested last Wednesday. I am so astonished by the level of care our staff showed to one another and to our students. This is not a fun test, but our staff knew it was important to know if they were an asymptomatic carrier that could be spreading the virus. I don’t think you will find another school that would have shown that kind of commitment to the safety and care of our students and staff. At the time of this press release with almost all tests having been returned. We found three asymptomatic staff member and two asymptomatic students from different families. Also, another one of the retested staff that had tested negative with the Antigen test came back positive from the Wednesday PCR lab testing. “Low exposure risk” letters were or will be sent to those families that are deemed in close contact with the positive staff and students which means you need to monitor your child closely for COVID related symptoms over the next two weeks.

Also, outside of our Wednesday on site testing, we had three more students test positive and three more family members test positive leading to several more quarantines. The quarantined number above includes students and staff that were quarantined because of close contact or quarantined with symptoms awaiting results but not positive tested people.

Furthermore, we have seen an uptick in students going home or staying home due to illness, but we also must remember this is flu and cold season. We want to remind you that if your child has two or more symptoms (or one significant symptom like loss of smell or taste) they must stay home 10 days or have a doctor’s note with an alternative diagnosis or a negative test result to return earlier but still must be 24 hours symptom free. This is Three Rivers directive and what all schools in the area are following. If a student goes home with one symptom they can return to school without a doctor’s note or negative test result but must be symptom free for 24 hours. If while recovering at home, your child develops more than one symptom or has prolonged sickness please follow the 2 symptoms or more directives from Three Rivers Health. Let’s keep everyone safe. #WildcatPride