This story has been updated to clarify the timeline of events at Greenfield-Central and add details on a new positive case at New Palestine High School on Friday.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Administrators at Greenfield-Central and New Palestine high schools on Friday reported new positive tests for COVID-19 among students.
Each school reported one student had been infected. Greenfield-Central officials began notifying families late Friday afternoon about the new case there. In a letter to parents sent a little after 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, Superintendent Harold Olin said the school district had enacted its protocol for dealing with an infection in one of its buildings.
On Saturday morning, Aug. 8, Southern Hancock announced administrators had been informed late Friday night of a positive test involving a student at New Palestine High School. In a statement distributed by Wes Anderson, the district’s director of school and community relations, SH said the new case was not related to the positive case that turned up on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 3.
At G-C, Olin’s statement said: “School personnel has collected the student’s schedule, including transportation and extracurricular activities, to determine which students or staff would be considered a close contact.” The statement noted that the district was identifying anyone who was within 6 feet of the student for 15 minutes or more.
The district’s team reached out to those who had close contact with the student. “If you do not receive a phone call, your child was not identified as a close contact,” Olin said.
The student had last been in school on Friday, July 31, and stayed home this week after developing COVID-like symptoms over the weekend, Olin said Saturday morning, Aug. 8. The date the student went for a test is uncertain, but G-C learned of the result at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.
Protocols call for contact tracing to include anyone in contact with an infected person 48 hours prior to symptoms developing, Olin said. That meant school officials reached out to everyone with whom the student had been in close contact on Thursday, July 30 — the first day of school — and Friday, July 31.
The tracing began shortly after officials learned of the positive test on Friday afternoon, Aug. 7, and was completed early Friday evening, Olin said Saturday morning.
The tracing involved contacting more families than the district did last week when officials learned a student at Greenfield Central Junior High School had tested positive, Olin said.
With G-C’s block scheduling this semester, the student was in four classes on Thursday, July 30, and four on Friday, July 31, Olin said. G-C also contacted families of students who rode the same bus as the infected student.
Students who had close contact will be asked to enter quarantine for 14 days from the time of first contact, Olin said.
The superintendent’s letter provided no other details, but it did remind parents that their children should not go to school if they have had direct contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-14 in the past two weeks; if the student has been directed to be in quarantine by a health-care professional or the health department; or if the student is suffering any symptoms, including a fever of 99.5, a new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, repeated shaking with chills, new onset of loss of taste or smell, fatigue, runny nose or congestion, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Olin also reminded parents to keep their children home if the student has undergone a COVID-19 test whose results are pending; or if anyone in the home has pending test results and is symptomatic.
Southern Hancock’s statement stressed the same thing and provided some details about its latest case. It said:
“The student who tested positive was last at school on Monday, Aug. 3. Families of all students who were in close contact with the positive case have been notified by our corporation nurse. If your family was not notified, your student was not in close contact with the student who tested positive.
“The district has contracted with Amerestore to conduct a full sanitization and disinfection of NPHS this weekend. Classes will still be held as scheduled at NPHS next week.
“Based on sound contact tracing conducted by district officials and nurses, the district has determined Friday’s case is not connected to the NPHS student who tested positive on Monday, Aug. 3.
“Families should not send their students to school if they have a confirmed COVID-19 case in their home, if their student has pending test results of a COVID-19 test, or if their student is showing any symptoms of COVID-19.”
