Which schools have students, staff testing positive for COVID-19? Here’s how to find out
Information about which South Carolina schools have students or staff that test positive for the coronavirus will soon be publicly available.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Tuesday plans to publish a report online twice a week detailing cases found at both public and private schools.
The report will be available online at scdhec.gov/COVID19schools starting Friday and will be updated on Tuesdays and Fridays in the afternoon.
The report will include students in kindergarten through twelfth grade who attend in-person classes regularly. It will also include coaches, tutors, part-time employees, kitchen staff, custodial workers and other school employees who are physically present in schools.
It will not include students who only participate in virtual learning and do not come to campus regularly for extracurricular activities.
College students will also be excluded from the report.
In a statement Tuesday, DHEC stressed that because a student or staff member contracted the virus, it does not mean that they were exposed to it at school.
“Unlike a nursing home, where residents live at the facility, students, teachers and faculty come and go from school and are active in their community and could come into contact with the virus outside of a school setting,” the statement read.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Which schools have students, staff testing positive for COVID-19? Here’s how to find out."
