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PARKERSBURG -- A second COVID-19 case was reported Monday at Parkersburg South High School, according to Wood County Schools, while Belpre City Schools issued a notice Monday to parents regarding one or more cases at Belpre High School.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department notified Wood County Schools of a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 at Parkersburg South High School, the school system reported in a press release late Monday afternoon.
The MOVHD is working closely with the school district to identify any potential persons who may have had close contact with the individual that tested positive for COVID-19, the release said.
Any individuals that need to be quarantined, based on the guidance of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), will be contacted by the health department.
The MOVHD conducts an investigation into each positive COVID-19 case to identify and notify those known to be in close contact with the infected individual. Contact tracing and testing takes time and that there are levels of contact: low, medium, and high, the release said. Notifications will be made while maintaining confidentiality when a close contact is confirmed and quarantine is necessary.
The health department will notify Wood County Schools when an employee or student is placed in quarantine. Wood County Schools will continue to take appropriate actions, working in collaboration with the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, to protect the safety and well-being of students and staff.
To keep schools open to children, it will take the entire community following established COVID-19 protocols including hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, use of face coverings, and practicing social distancing, the release said.
In Belpre, notifications were sent out Monday reporting one or more cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed among students or staff at Belpre High School.
The notice was being provided to ensure all parents/guardians and staff were aware of the situation. School officials were working closely with public health professionals at Marietta/Belpre Health Department with contact tracing. The Health Department had completed its contact tracing protocol resulting in three campus members quarantined from the building.
The individuals were feeling well and have not reported any symptoms, the letter stated.
Names of persons diagnosed with COVID-19 is Protected Health Information and therefore cannot be revealed to school officials, staff, or community members by the health department.
Health department staff called all impacted staff and families of children who had been identified as close contacts to provide them with more specific instructions and monitor them for symptoms.
"At this point all of those individuals who have been impacted have been contacted directly by the health department and they have completed their contact tracing protocols," Belpre Superintendent Jeff Greenley said in a phone message sent out Monday. "We do not anticipate any additional students or faculty members who may be impacted by this incident.
"We can say the individuals are feeling well and have not yet presented any symptoms yet of the illness," Greenley said. "We are very fortunate and very grateful we have made it this far without any incidents.
"We continue to ask everyone to remain vigilant, wear facial coverings, maintain social distance, avoid mass gatherings and continue to be cautious regarding mass gatherings and what we do in our free time so we can mitigate the rest," he said.
Greenley thanked everyone in the community for the sacrifices that have been made in order for the schools to continue their operations.
"We will continue to be in contact with families if other incidents arise," he said.