MS Coast schools already dealing with COVID outbreaks, first report of 2021-22 shows
The Mississippi State Department of Health released its first report on COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in the state’s schools for the 2021-22 academic year, and there was a lack in data from many schools in South Mississippi.
There were no schools in Harrison County included, but some campuses in Hancock, Jackson and Pearl River counties did make the list.
Not all schools have started in Mississippi, and some who started last week had not yet had a full week of class.
The report is organized by county, which can include multiple school districts in each county, not just counties with their own district.
▪ Pearl River County: Schools in Pearl River County appear to be having the most issues early on. Pearl River Central High School was dealing with one outbreak that included 16 students testing positive after the start of classes on Aug. 5. There were 78 students and five teachers in quarantine.
Pearl River Central Middle School, which had 1-5 students test positive, had 35 students and four teachers in quarantine.
Picayune’s Head Start/Pre-K program had its own outbreak with a total of six students and teachers testing positive in the month of August.
▪ Jackson County: St. Martin High School was dealing with one outbreak that had seven students test positive for COVID. Eastlawn Elementary and Gautier Middle School each had 13 students in quarantine because of exposure to the virus.
▪ Hancock County: Schools in Hancock County were reporting no new outbreaks for the week of Aug. 2-6, but there were eight students who tested positive for COVID-19 at Hancock Middle School. At Hancock North Central Elementary, there 18 students and nine teachers who were quarantined because of exposure to the coronavirus. East Hancock Elementary had 17 students in quarantine. The Hancock County School District had its first day of classes on Aug. 3.
The first day of classes in the Harrison County and Jackson County school districts was Aug. 5.
View all of Mississippi’s weekly reports on school outbreaks at https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/14,0,420,972.html
