September 5, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
The number of positive cases of COVID in the DeKalb County School District dropped by 21 from Monday, August 30 to Friday, September 3 but the number of those quarantined went up by 19.
According to Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder, the DeKalb School District reported 113 positive cases on Monday, August 30 with DCHS having the most at 69 followed by DeKalb Middle School 22, Northside Elementary 11, Smithville Elementary School 6 and DeKalb West School with 5 cases. By Friday, September 3 the number of positive cases district wide had dropped to 92 with DCHS having 57 followed by DeKalb Middle School 18, Northside Elementary 11, Smithville Elementary 4, and DeKalb West School with 2.
The number of those quarantined district-wide was at 252 on Monday, August 30. DCHS had the most quarantined at 89, followed by Northside Elementary and Smithville Elementary each with 47, DeKalb West School 40, and DeKalb Middle School with 29. By Friday, September 3, the number of quarantined district-wide had increased to 271 with DCHS again having the most at 85 followed by DeKalb Middle School 54, Northside Elementary School 51, Smithville Elementary 47, and DeKalb West School 34.
The district reported 27 absences among the staff on Friday, September 3 due to positive cases or quarantine. DCHS had the most at 8 followed by Northside Elementary 7, DeKalb Middle School and DeKalb West School each with 4, the Transportation Department 3, and Smithville Elementary School with 1 case.
According to Director of Schools Patrick Cripps, the schools are basically relying on parents to report cases of COVID.
“We are not checking temperatures at the door and we don’t get reports from the medical profession saying someone has COVID. We rely on parents to call and tell us. Once we have a positive case we send letters home and a remind app to notify parents that their child is in a classroom where there has been a positive COVID student with possible exposures. We tell the parents that they have the option to quarantine their child and we advise them to please look for signs and symptoms. If the child shows signs, we ask the parents to keep the child home for a few days. Because of the number of students, we are unable to contact trace,” said Director Cripps.
Although remote learning is not an option, students at home can keep up with their homework from packets sent home to them or via Google Classroom.
COVID remains a concern in DeKalb County
According to the Tennessee Department Health, DeKalb County had 346 active COVID 19 cases Friday, September 3. Thirty four new cases were recorded in DeKalb County on Friday alone.
At last report a total of 7,849 people (38.3%) have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine and 6,437 (31.4%) are fully vaccinated in DeKalb County.
There have been 59 deaths in DeKalb County since the pandemic began in March 2020 and 98 have been hospitalized.
Over the last seven days, (August 27 – September 2) DeKalb County had a case count of 242 for a daily case rate of 168.7 per 100,000 residents.
For the most recent 14 days, (August 20- September 2) DeKalb County’s case count was 415 for a daily case rate of 144.7 per 100,000 residents.
For the 14 days prior (August 6 to August 19), the case count was 178 for a daily case rate of 62.1 per 100, 000 residents.
From March 5, 2020 to September 2, 2021, DeKalb County has had a total of 3,535 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 for a daily case rate of 31.6 per 100,000 residents.
Over the last 7 days the average percent positive was 31.8 %.
The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) wants to remind Tennesseans that COVID-19 vaccines are the best defense in preventing the continued spread of the virus. Vaccination rates across the state have increased over the last month as the state experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Individuals seeking more information on the COVID-19 vaccines can visit covid19.tn.gov or www.vaccines.gov to schedule an appointment with a local vaccine provider.