1st case of student with COVID at public school reported in Kennewick
The Kennewick School District has the first reported case of a student going to a public Tri-Cities school while ill with COVID-19.
The child was last at Highlands Middle School on Oct. 1 with about 50 to 60 other children.
The school district worked with the Benton Franklin Health District to determine that the student had close contact with two staff members who were sent home to quarantine.
The information was placed on the district’s recently created case count page on its website.
Kennewick also has had eight employees test positive this school year, and Pasco school officials told the Herald they have had four cases. Richland officials report having no cases. Pasco did not release which schools were affected.
Close contact is considered being under 6 feet apart for more than 15 minutes regardless of whether the people are wearing face coverings.
The Kennewick district determined Highlands didn’t need to be shut down.
“All school spaces, including classrooms and high-touch areas used by the individual are being cleaned and disinfected,” Highlands Principal Lori McCord wrote in a letter to parents that went out on Monday. “Please remember to remain diligent about taking health and safety precautions by wearing face masks (or) coverings, maintaining a 6-foot distance, frequent hand washing and staying home when feeling ill.”
Only a few hundred students considered at-risk are attending classes in-person in Kennewick but many teachers are working in their classrooms to teach students online.
So far, the Kennewick student was the ninth coronavirus case reported in the Kennewick School District since late August. The other eight cases have been staff members scattered across the district, including:
- Amon Creek Elementary on Aug. 26
- Amistad Elementary on Sept. 2
- Kamiakin High School on Sept. 4
- Southgate Elementary on Sept. 5
- Highlands Middle School on Sept. 14
- Fuerza Elementary on Sept. 24
- Eastgate Elementary on Sept. 25
- Southridge High School on Sept. 29
The district has plans in place in case someone contracts the disease, including cleaning and disinfecting the areas where the sick person has been.
If a staff member or student leaves due to feeling ill, the workspace is sanitized and and isolation room is provided for students who need to be picked up. Once the isolation room is empty, it is sanitized.
Richland school leaders plan to create a similar chart on their website to report COVID-positive cases. Officials hope to have it ready by next week.
Pasco has not said if it will be doing the same.
Returning to school
All three districts are working on getting ready to reopen schools for some in-person classes.
In Kennewick, more special-needs students, as well as preschoolers, will start attending class twice a week starting Monday, Oct. 12. The remaining students will begin the hybrid learning — some days in school and some online — the week of Oct. 19.
The school board decided last week to push back its reopening by a week to allow schools more time to prepare.
Richland and Pasco officials have not set an official date for when they will open classes.
Richland’s school board was divided on the issue at a recent meeting after Dr. Amy Person, health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District, stood by her recommendation that Benton County schools could open this month despite plateauing COVID-19 cases.
Person said she believes the risk to young children can be mitigated by using masks, social distancing and hand washing.
Pasco school officials have also been studying when to reopen. Dr. Person initially recommended allowing them to start by Oct. 15 because Franklin County’s COVID infection rate has been higher than in Benton County.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 11:37 AM.