Andalusia Schools continue to track COVID cases
Published 9:07 am Wednesday, September 1, 2021
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The Andalusia City Schools Board of Education received a review of COVID-19 cases within the system during a meeting Monday night.
According to a school report tracking exposure and positive cases for the first few weeks of the current school year, on August 13, there was a reported 6 students exposed, and three students and two staff members had tested positive. For the week of August 20, a total of 35 students had been exposed with 19 students and three staff members testing positive.
The report for the week ending August 27 showed 26 students listed as exposed with 26 testing positive. No staff members were reported as being exposed or testing positive on the August 27 report.
Andalusia Superintendent Dr. Daniel Shakespeare said current members do not require any significant changes for students but that the numbers will continue to be monitored.
“We’re holding pretty good with these numbers compared to other districts around the Wiregrass. Some of the districts are talking about closing down for two weeks or either mandating masks. Right now, if we continue with these numbers, we will be okay. Even if kids have their masks on, they can still be exposed. Once we have a 3 to 5 percent positive rate, we will make a decision,” Shakespeare said.
The threshold is set by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“Even if we get a spike, we will look at the numbers and let them dictate for us whether we need to shut down for 14 days or go to a mask mandate. Hopefully, we can stay away from that and will continue to keep the numbers down,” he said.
Shakespeare added that 54 students and parents attended a recent vaccination clinic held at the high school. “I thought 54 was very positive,” he said.