Beaufort Co. schools shorten quarantine period as COVID cases rise. There’s a catch
Beaufort County School District students returned to class Wednesday with new COVID-19 protocols — namely, shortened quarantine periods but more stringent mask requirements in line with new requirements from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said at Tuesday’s school board meeting the district is aware of nine staff members and 14 students who currently have COVID. Those cases were reported via DHEC, schools or the district’s after-hours COVID reporting form, district spokesperson Candace Bruder said.
As the omicron variant continues to surge, that number will likely dramatically rise. Cases are skyrocketing in Beaufort County, with an average of 116 new infections reported every day compared with 16 infections per day two weeks ago.
And cases in the school district have historically mirrored those across the county — namely in January and September 2021, when the district was reporting nearly 3,000 people quarantining in one week.
The district reports COVID infections and quarantines to DHEC each week, which are published every Wednesday; Rodriguez also gives a COVID update at every school board business meeting. The board’s next business meeting is Jan. 18.
What’s the new guidance?
If students or staff test positive for COVID-19, they’ll only be required to quarantine for five days instead of 10. After the five-day quarantine, they can return to school as long as they wear a mask indoors for the next five days and “provide a parent note confirming that symptoms have improved and there has been no fever in the past 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication,” per a district email.
If students or staff refuse to wear a mask indoors during days six through 10, they cannot return to campus.
Students who are quarantining will get live online instruction from teachers who are also teaching in-person classes, which is currently the subject of a lawsuit against the school district. The Whale Branch Middle School teacher who filed the lawsuit, Amanda Patel, is claiming that she and her colleagues providing this type of instruction have been underpaid with a one-time $1,000 bonus for the fall semester instead of an hourly rate for additional work that’s in the district’s salary and stipend handbook.
Quarantine policies for close contacts to someone with COVID depend on vaccination status. People who aren’t showing symptoms and have been fully vaccinated and/or who have tested positive for COVID in the last 90 days and are no longer contagious do not have to quarantine, but they must wear a mask for 10 days after exposure unless they’re eating or drinking while social distancing. DHEC is recommending getting a COVID test on day five after an exposure.
Unvaccinated individuals have to quarantine for five days but can return to school if they don’t show symptoms and get a negative antigen or PCR test on or after the fourth day. They have to wear masks for days six through 10 after exposure.
On Tuesday, the school board did not have any public commenters or take any action on COVID, other than hearing Rodriguez’s update on the new guidelines and case counts. The board discussed implementing mask mandates in August and September, but rejected the mandate after several meetings and hours of public and private discussion.
The board elected new officers at the meeting. David Striebinger is replacing Christina Gwozdz as board chairperson, with Angela Middleton replacing Striebinger as board secretary and Cathy Robine replacing Mel Campbell as board vice chairperson.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 2:50 PM.