Schools start to see decline in COVID cases

Published 8:32 pm Wednesday, January 26, 2022

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Colquitt County School District continues to report some of its highest numbers of reported COVID cases since the beginning of the 2021 fall semester. 

Each week the school district releases a weekly COVID update that can be found on its website here. These reports track reported COVID cases within the district. The most recent report which was published on Jan. 24 for the week of Jan. 17 through Jan. 21 is the first report of 2022 to show a decrease. 

The week of Jan. 17 through 21 does include the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in which all schools and offices were closed. The following reports showcase the positive students and staff within the school district. The date listed indicates the date in which the data was published.

Jan. 10

• 151 students
• 54 staff

Jan. 17

• 317 students
• 93 staff

Jan. 24

• 237 students
• 71 staff

The highest spike so far occurred during the week of  Jan. 10 through Jan. 14, according to the reports. The school district seems to be aware of where the highest concentration of COVID cases are occurring. That same week Superintendent Ben Wiggins informed community leaders during a COVID Zoom call on Jan. 12  that three classes in three different schools had been “excused due to COVID.” He did not elaborate on which schools had seen the spikes. 

During an email conversation with CCSD chief communications officer Angela Hobby and Wiggins they confirmed that as of Jan. 25 that “one class closed due to COVID exposure at an elementary school.” 

In that same call, Jim Matney, CEO of Colquitt Regional Medical Center, and Dr. Woodwin Weeks, also of CRMC, stated that they expect the spike to dissipate soon. 

“We saw last year that by Feb. 1, the Christmas spike of COVID almost, if not completely subsided,” Matney said.

As the issues of COVID continue to affect Colquitt County, the school district has continued to face staff shortages in multiple areas. Wiggins and Hobby said the district is still in need of bus drivers, substitutes and nutritional workers, but they are confident in their current situation. 

“As with all school districts, there is strain on the teachers, administrators and staff due to COVID… We do have a pool of substitute teachers, drivers and other staff that can fill in where there is a shortage for a short time period or we can combine classrooms or adjust bus routes,” Hobby stated in the email conversation. 

The school district recently implemented new guidelines to reflect the guidelines set by the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control. Some of the most significant changes include symptomatic persons confirmed COVID positive and suspected COVID persons that have and have not been linked to a positive or suspected case. 

These are some of the changes between the guidelines updated as of Aug. 4, 2021 and the most recent guidelines updated as of Jan. 13, 2022:

1. A decrease from 10 to five days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
2. A decrease from 10 to five days completion of an isolation period from date of first onset signs/symptoms.
3. No proof of a negative COVID test if the student/staff member is not linked to a positive case.
4. Proof of a negative PCR test from a healthcare professional if the student/staff member is suspected AND linked to a positive or otherwise suspected COVID case or the completion of the five-day isolation period.
5. Staff members can continue to work if they have been exposed but continue to be symptom-free.

The final change in guidelines is in accordance with Governor Brian Kemp’s Administrative Order for Public Health, which states that exposed employees, regardless of vaccination status or location of exposure may continue to work so long as they are symptom-free, which went into effect Jan. 5. 

The school district saw success throughout the 2021 fall semester with their original guidelines. In the Aug. 30, 2021 COVID report, 260 students and 37 staff were confirmed positive while in the Dec. 13, 2021 report only one student and two staff members were reported positive. 

While the school continues to battle the pandemic, Colquitt County itself struggles with a continued shortage of rapid tests available to the public. According to Kendra Harden of the Colquitt County Health Department, as of Jan. 26, only 280 rapid tests are available. This is currently the only site that is offering free rapid tests within the county. 

The MAKO Medical/Department of Public Health testing site at the old Colquitt County High School, 1800 Park Ave., and CRMC are still offering PCR testing, which takes between two to three days to come back, according to Weeks. 

Take-home tests are available from pharmacies in Moultrie. Chancey Drugs, 101 N. Main St., and Walgreens, 2025 First Ave. S.E., confirmed they had limited supplies as of Jan. 26.

Wiggins commented on the shortage in the Jan. 12 Zoom call that they are recommending all students and staff who show symptoms to get tested at the MAKO site which is open for testing 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

The Colquitt County Health Department is offering their rapid tests 2-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays “until supplies run out,” according to Harden.