Bluffton school staffer tests positive for COVID-19 after school supply pick-up event
An employee at Bluffton’s M.C. Riley Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19 one day after the school held a supply pick-up event, district officials confirmed Tuesday.
Students and parents were at the Thursday event to pick up devices for the school’s summer academic recovery camp, which was moved to be all-virtual.
The employee did not have direct contact with students or parents during the event, according to Beaufort County School District spokeswoman Candace Bruder.
Staff who had “close contact” with the employee were notified, Bruder said. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control defines close contact as being within six feet of an individual for at least 15 minutes.
“The district has been following CDC and DHEC protocols regarding masks, physical distancing, and physical barriers where necessary,” Bruder said in a statement. “Anyone entering a district building is provided, and required to wear, a mask.”
The district has previously announced one confirmed case of coronavirus among staff: a Beaufort High School employee tested positive for the virus after working at the school in May.
The district is gearing up to begin the fall semester on Sept. 8, pending final calendar approval by the school board.
Superintendent Frank Rodriguez announced Friday that schools will provide both in-person and virtual learning options — however, it’s possible the school district will start the year with virtual instruction due to Beaufort County’s designation as “high-risk” for the spread of coronavirus.
If in-person instruction does happen and too many students register for face-to-face learning at an individual school — particularly those in Bluffton that are plagued by chronic overcrowding — the school will transition its in-person plan to a hybrid one, with students attending school two days a week in two separate cohorts.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 2:22 PM.