TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Twin Falls School District says two summer school students have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a statement from the district, a student who attended middle school summer school and a student who attended high school summer school (A-Day) tested positive. The district says the students are from the same household.
"In high school summer school, we have 510 students enrolled, however, some take their classes online and only half are in the building at one time (A and B days) meaning we have less than 250 students in the building at one time with nightly sanitation," explained the Twin Falls School District's Public Information Officer, Eva Craner. "Individual class numbers are designed so that desks can be situated with 6 feet of distance in between them."
"In middle school summer school, we only have one grade level in the building at a time, there were up to (depending on how many were absent) 84 students in the build at the same time the student with COVID would have been," Craner added. "Again, we sanitize the building on a nightly basis and individual class numbers are designed so that desks can be situated with 6 feet of distance in between them.
Craner says summer school protocols were approved by the South Central Public Health District.
The district says the South Central Public Health District notified them on June 24 and moved into initiated protocols that were developed in partnership with the Health District before summer school started.
Those protocols included notifying all summer school families about potential exposure.
Neither of the students attended school while symptomatic, according to Craner.
"A family member tested positive and because of possible exposure, the students stayed home from school," Craner said. "They later developed symptoms and as such were determined to be probable cases."
The district stresses most children in summer school have had minimal to no exposure, but say all parents uncomfortable sending their children to school were directed to their school principal to learn more about distance learning resources available for that family.
"TFSD staff members have been diligently taking safety precautions recommended by our local health officials to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19," the statement read. "Families with children who have had moderate or high exposure to the student(s) with the confirmed case were contacted by phone and email. To ensure health and safety, TFSD will continue to maintain social distance between students and complete daily sanitation of the buildings."
The South Central Public Health District says the symptoms of COVID-19 can take between 2 and 14 days to appear. The two week period for exposures due to these cases expires on Wednesday, July 8th, the district said.
"This means that anyone who may have been exposed to the disease, on or before June 24th, should have shown symptoms by Wednesday, unless they are asymptomatic," the statement said.
SCPHD encourages everyone to continue taking proper precautions, including practicing good hand hygiene, monitor your family’s health, practice social distancing, and wear a mask in public areas.
If your child develops any cold or flu-like symptoms, please keep them home from public areas (including school) and call your health care provider for guidance, the district says.
