How many COVID cases, quarantines did Beaufort Co. schools log in first week back?
Amid a growing omicron surge, Beaufort County School District saw a jump in COVID cases and quarantines as students and staff returned from winter break, logging more than 200 infections and 500 quarantines across the district between Jan. 3-7.
Three schools — Bluffton High School, May River High School and Whale Branch Early College High School — logged more than 20 student COVID cases last week.
Beaufort High, H.E. McCracken Middle, M.C. Riley Elementary and Bluffton High each reported more than 35 students quarantining last week.
That’s a sharp jump from pre-break numbers, when Superintendent Frank Rodriguez reported 16 infections and 59 quarantines for the whole district between Dec. 5-11.
This dramatic increase is in line with the rest of the county, which broke its single-day COVID-19 case record over the weekend even as residents reported delays and difficulties in getting tested for COVID.
However, it seems like the spread in schools might be less severe than the county at large — current quarantine levels are nowhere near what they were in September, when the district reported nearly 3,000 people quarantining in one week.
The new school data comes from a Wednesday report by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control. DHEC doesn’t report the number of cases or quarantines at each school if it’s between one and four, instead leaving it as an asterisk in the report. Because of that, it’s difficult to calculate the total number of cases and quarantines in the district.
In total, from Jan. 3-7 the district logged:
- Between 198 and 216 probable or confirmed student COVID infections,
- Between 21 and 84 probable or confirmed staff COVID infections,
- Between 477 and 492 student quarantines, and
- Between nine and 36 staff quarantines.
Since the beginning of the school year, the district has reported nearly 2,000 COVID infections and more than 8,000 quarantines.
This semester, Beaufort County School District is also operating under new requirements from DHEC, namely shortened quarantine periods and more stringent mask requirements.
If students or staff test positive for COVID-19, they’ll be required to quarantine for only 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.
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.