Districts Will Look To Dept. Of Health For Tracking COVID-19 Cases In Schools

LAS CRUCES - With schools beginning classes through distance learning, districts have already seen cases of staff with COVID-19 on their campuses -- including Hatch Valley Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District and Deming Public Schools.

This has required schools to work closely with the New Mexico Department of Health to help track down those who have come in contact with people who have tested positive.

Statewide, school districts are looking ahead and planning for students' eventual return to campus for face-to-face learning. This has led districts to consider what actions they will take to limit the spread of the virus when it comes time for in-person learning.

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Las Cruces braces for face-to-face

"It's not a matter if we'll have positive cases, it's when we have positive cases -- (and) to the extent we have them," said Kelly Jameson, spokeswoman for Las Cruces Public Schools. "If there was a potential outbreak, it would be incumbent upon the district to be responsible and disclose any kind of threat to the public."

Like other districts, LCPS will be following guidance and taking advice from the DOH on procedure moving forward. Jameson said LCPS will be communicating any coronavirus activity to the community.

According to Jameson, if a staff member or student tests positive, the first priority would be notifying those who may have come in contact with that person about the case, and then the district would put out a broader announcement to the public in a press release.

Alamogordo considers confidentiality

Alamogordo Public Schools plans to follow public health and John Hopkins recommendations of tracing any face-to-face contact a person with the virus had with others back to two days before any sign of infection was shown, according to Lisa Patch, health services director at APS. They would then contact each person individually to notify them of the potential contact, without giving away the infected person's private details.

"How do we keep people safe and, at the same time, maintain confidentiality?" Patch said. "That has definitely been one of my biggest concerns."

Patch explained that there has always been this sort of protocol in place for diseases like tuberculosis and chickenpox.

Not only do schools need to follow Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects student privacy in the school setting, but -- once disease is involved -- they must follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects medical patient privacy.

"The public health model is to inform those that may have been exposed and try to be as comprehensive as possible," Patch said. "Now, when you get into -- heaven forbid -- multiple cases, and then public health would put out an issuance for the school, if we were to shut down the school or something. Then everyone would be alerted."

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Hatch Valley continues communicating

When Hatch Valley Public Schools had a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 7, the district acted quickly to notify the community, sending out a news release the day they found out about the case.

HVPS Superintendent Michael Chavez said the district will be keeping the community updated through its website, email and social media.

"Social media tends to just really be our main mode of communication with the community, and I'm always so blown away at how quick and effective it is," Chavez said.

He said the case that was discovered at Hatch Valley Elementary served as a good test for the communication system. HVPS will be working communicating closely with NMDOH, like other districts, and will follow their instructions.

"We just discovered we have to record quickly," Chavez said.

Gadsden tries to be flexible

Gadsden Independent School District's reentry plan outlines different scenarios that could affect how each school and district will react.

Depending on factors such as risk, travel and symptom display, GISD will follow particular steps that will serve as guidelines when staff and students are on campus.

The guidelines are set for now, but they are subject to change as the situation surrounding the pandemic changes constantly.

"GISD will be amending this document throughout the year as new developments occur dealing with COVID," said Luis Villalobos, spokesman for GISD, in an email statement.

So far, GISD has had two positive cases of the virus, one of which was a food staff worker who self-quarantined herself after finding out she had been in contact with someone who tested positive.

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State suggests case-by-case action

The Associated Press reported on a state press conference in which Public Education Department Secretary Ryan Stewart took questions from students in a video conference organized by the state chapter of the National Education Association teacher’s union.

Stewart responded to a fourth-grader named Monica Brycelea, who asked what would happen if someone got sick at her school.

A COVID-19 case at a school in Deming last month resulted in a 72-hour closure. Stewart said that such shutdowns would happen on a case-by-case basis.

“It may be that we have to close the school, clean everything down, (and) make sure that we’ve gotten the virus off of all the surfaces before people come back,” he said.

Miranda Cyr, a Report for America corps member, can be reached at [email protected] or @mirandabcyr on Twitter. Show your support for the Report for America program at https://bit.ly/LCSNRFA

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Districts will be looking to the Department of Health for tracking COVID-19 cases in schools

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