City schools report 28 positive student, 14 staff COVID tests for 13-week period

The New Albany School District has provided a COVID-19 update through November.

It says the district remains committed to the safety and health of its students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding the importance of keeping students in a normal routine with school campuses open and offering face-to-face instruction, NASD put into place strict protocols to help keep schools open and students and staff healthy.

NASD began school as scheduled in early August and has been fortunate to remain open.  Protocols regarding wearing facial coverings, providing social distancing as much as possible, strict contact tracing, and additional cleanings of the facilities have all been important to keeping students and staff healthy.

“We understand the importance of students being in school and participating in extracurricular activities,” said Dr. Lance Evans, Superintendent.  “We know that these normal routines are good for students academically, socially and emotionally.  We feel very fortunate to have been able to start school on time and remain in school for almost 15 weeks.”

The NASD reports to the Mississippi State Department of Health weekly regarding new numbers of positive COVID cases among staff and students. NASD educates approximately 2,100 students and has approximately 315 teachers and staff throughout the district. As of Friday, Nov. 6, since the beginning of school on Aug. 6, NASD has reported a total of 28 (1.3 percent) positive student cases and 14 (4.4 percent) positive staff cases. Cumulatively over this 13-week reporting period, 135 students and 6 staff have been required to quarantine for 14 days because of close contact (within six feet or less for 15 minutes or more) with a positive COVID case at school. Several more students and staff have been quarantined because of close contact with a person outside of the school setting who tested positive for COVID.

NASD urges students and families to remain committed to the safety and health measures put into place to help us keep school campuses functioning as close to normal as these times will allow.  Many of the measures will also protect students and staff, along with their families and our community, from many of the other winter season illnesses (flu, strep, colds, stomach viruses) that affect school attendance.

“During the Thanksgiving break, we want to remind our families to be on guard and continue taking precautions to keep your household healthy,” said Tammie Reeder, Health Services Coordinator for NASD.  “This will help make sure we can all return to school on Nov. 30 for the last three weeks of the semester.”