A Boulder Oaks Elementary School parent informed the district on Oct. 15 that their child tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first case to hit Alpine Union School District since the 2020-21 school year began with limited campus time on Aug. 19.
According to Alpine Union School District Superintendent Richard Newman, the district immediately responded by moving forward with plans established before the start of the school year in the event of an outbreak. District procedures are based on and work in conjunction with the three-part protocol, 3T, implemented in April by the county of San Diego in the ongoing fight against the pandemic: Test-Trace-Treat.
That 3T plan relies on individuals participating in COVID-19 testing. If they test positive, they must retrace their steps to determine who they might have unknowingly infected so those individuals can also be tested. At the same time, the person who initially tested positive is isolated and treated for the virus.
School officials designed the district reopening plan over summer vacation with the realization they would have COVID-19 cases on campus and limited cohorts to no more than 12 students specifically to provide for an effective tracing system if and when a positive case was reported, Newman said.
“We have an extensive tracing system and our health and safety protocols, which were built over months, are very strong,” Newman said— in this case, contract tracing was reportedly completed within one hour.
The student who tested positive was not at school the day their positive case was reported; that particular school day happened to land on a distance-learning day in their schedule.
Anyone who tests positive but does not develop symptoms may return to campus 10 days after they first tested positive.
“If symptoms develop, their return is delayed until the person is 10 days past the onset of symptoms and has not had a fever without fever-reducing medications during the 24 hours prior return,” Newman said.
There are 199 employees and 1,268 students in the district.
Both the classified and teachers unions have collaborated with the district on a joint communication regarding testing, Newman said and all district staff members undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
“We were one of the first districts in the county to provide and coordinate free testing for our local community. Free drive-through testing and flu shots are provided every two weeks at Joan MacQueen Middle School. Staff submits the results electronically to the District,” Newman said.
The next test date is scheduled for Nov. 4 and future test dates, including some dates added between two-week increments can be found on the Live Feed link at: www.alpineschools. net.
