School district reports first positive COVID test since Sept. 28

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Community School district received notification Thursday from Floyd County Public Health that one individual in the district tested positive for COVID-19.

The positive test is the first reported since Sept. 28. The district said the individual who tested positive Thursday has not been involved with on-campus learning.

Although this individual has not been on campus, the school district is no longer publicly identifying the specific grade or building of individuals who test positive. The Iowa Department of Public Health changed suggested reporting guidelines for schools in late September.

The changes altered the amount of information the state of Iowa wants local schools to release to the public.

“We updated our dashboard to comply with the state guidance,” the district stated. “We will continue to be as transparent as possible within the legal guidelines stipulated.”

According to the school district’s online COVID-19 dashboard, 21 individuals in the district are currently in quarantine, which means they have been in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. The person they came in contact with is not necessarily connected with the school. Close contact is currently defined at being within 6 feet of someone for more than 15 minutes.

It has been nearly one month since the district last reported a positive test. The positive test reported on Thursday is the 45th reported in the district since school opened in late August. Over the first few weeks of September, the district reported 44 individuals in the district had tested positive for COVID-19. Local public health officials reported that at one time, more than 100 people in the district were in quarantine. Those numbers have dropped significantly since the beginning of October.

Students had been attending school through a hybrid plan that included some on-site learning and some learning from home. This week, the district began a phased reopening of grades 6-12, and plans to be fully reopened by Nov. 2.

Under the plan, the middle school will fully reopen to in-person learning through a phased process, while the high school will reopen using a modified schedule, with students in grades 9-10 in the building four days a week and students in grades 11-12 in the building three days a week.

Elementary students in the district have been learning in their buildings full time since the school year started.