Beaufort Co. schools to adopt ‘test-to-stay’ quarantine policy as COVID cases decline
The Beaufort County School District’s COVID-19 infections among staff and students continued to decline for a second straight week, logging a little more than 300 student and staff quarantines between Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, according to the latest data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
There were between 76 and 145 infections for students and staff in the district, the latest data show, and between 370 and 427 quarantines. Two weeks earlier, that number hit a record-breaking high at 615 quarantines, according to previous reporting by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Confirmed and probable cases of students infected within the district ranged from 120 to 164. The week before, that number was at 323, Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said during a school board meeting Feb. 1.
Bluffton Middle School logged 19 student infections, the highest in the district last week. The school reported no staff or teacher infections. At least 117 River Ridge Academy students were quarantined, the data shows.
In that Feb. 1 meeting, Rodriguez brought up the “test-to-stay” option provided by DHEC, which could largely do away with quarantining.
If implemented, this program would allow students who may have been exposed to COVID to get a rapid test rather than pulling them out of school to quarantine. Students would only be allowed to stay in class if they agree to wear a mask for 10 days and take a rapid COVID test at home five to seven days after exposure.
Currently, students in the district who are considered close contacts are instructed to quarantine for 10 days and can come back at the end of that period without testing if they have no symptoms. Quarantining can end on Day 5 if no symptoms have been reported, but a mask must be worn until day 10, according to DHEC’s School and Childcare Exclusion List.
The district must follow these guidelines, per state law, Beaufort County School District spokesperson Candace Bruder said.
In a call sent out to parents Sunday around 5:30 p.m., Rodriguez announced that the schools would be implementing the test-to-stay program, but did not provide an exact date for when it would be adopted.
“DHEC has provided our district with an ample supply of at-home tests that we are currently in the process of distributing to schools,” Rodriguez said. “To be clear, our schools will not be administering these tests, but they will be offered to parents of close contacts to administer at home if they wish to participate in test-to-stay.”
Rodriguez told parents in the call that more information would be provided later.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 2:49 PM.
