How will Mississippi schools report COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in 2021-22? What to know
Mississippi schools will once again be required to report COVID-19 cases and quarantine numbers among students and staff to the state health department in the 2021-22 school year.
“Standard reporting from schools will not change this year,” state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said in an email statement to the Sun Herald. “They will be reporting the number of cases in students and teachers/staff, number of students and teachers/staff on quarantine, and number of outbreaks.”
Liz Sharlot, communications director at the Mississippi State Department of Health, said the department will likely begin publishing school numbers on its website weekly after most schools are back in session later this month.
Jackson County School District Superintendent Dr. John Strycker shared with the Sun Herald the form schools will use to report cases to the district, which will then send the information to the health department every Friday. Jackson County schools will also post updated case counts on its own website every week, as it did last year.
The form asks for the number of new COVID-19 cases among students and staffs that week, as well as the total since the start of the school year. Schools will report those numbers by grade level, but all case counts reported by the state are aggregated in one total for each school.
The form also asks for the number of students and staff currently in quarantine, and the number of COVID-19 outbreaks for the week and since the start of the year.
The health department defines an outbreak as three or more people testing positive for COVID-19 in the same group, such as a classroom, bus, or sports team, within 14 days.
How to check on school cases
Last year, Gov. Tate Reeves said before school started that he did not anticipate schools would be required to report COVID-19 cases to the public.
In mid-August 2020, however, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs issued an order requiring all K-12 schools to report cases and quarantine figures to the health department.
The health department initially released case counts by county, before moving to publishing information about each school.
Each week, the department released a report containing the data from each school on its website. This website contains every weekly report from last year: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/14,0,420,972.html
When the health department begins publishing the data again, the weekly reports will likely appear on its website alongside reports on variants, vaccinations and outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
How many cases so far?
Some districts have already opened for the semester and reported COVID-19 cases and outbreaks to parents and the public. Because the state reporting system hasn’t opened yet, the full picture of outbreaks is not clear.
In Lamar County schools near Hattiesburg, the district reported 114 cases among students during its first full week of classes from July 24-30, and 26 among staff, the Mississippi Free Press reported.
Three schools, Oak Grove Middle and High and Purvis High, moved to all-virtual learning because of outbreaks. Masks were optional when classes started but will now be required through at least Aug. 15.
Hancock County School District’s new superintendent, Theresa Merwin, announced on Facebook this week that her district will require masks for students and staff.
“There has been a rise in COVID-19 cases,” she said. “This rise has already affected neighboring schools that started school in July. Students have been sent home to quarantine, and in two cases, schools have been shut down for two weeks. We don’t want this for our students. We don’t want this for our parents.”
Mask policies
Unlike last year, Reeves has not issued a mask mandate for schools and has said he has no intention of doing so. That has left every district to make its own decision.
By mid-July, almost every district on the Coast was planning to make masks optional unless Reeves issued a mandate. But in the last week, most Coast districts, like Hancock County, reversed course.
Last Thursday, Pascagoula-Gautier became the first district to switch from a masks-optional policy to mandating mask. Gulfport and Pass Christian followed on Friday. On Monday, Biloxi, Hancock County and Long Beach also announced a mandate, and Ocean Springs switched Tuesday. Moss Point has planned since May 2021 to require masks.
Masks are optional at Bay-Waveland, Harrison County and Jackson County schools.
When will students have to quarantine?
In announcing mask requirements, district leaders have said they hope the mandate will help keep students in school by reducing the spread of COVID-19 and the number of close contacts required to quarantine after exposure.
Last year, districts generally required all close contacts of a positive case to quarantine. During certain weeks, dozens or even hundreds of students at a given school were in quarantine. For example, during the week of Jan. 11-15, 241 Gulfport High School students were in quarantine.
This year, more districts have said that vaccinated students and students wearing a mask will not need to quarantine after exposure, unless they develop symptoms.
Pass Christian’s “Blueprint to Reopen Schools” noted that last year, 97% of close contacts did not end up testing positive for COVID-19.
Thus, the district decided that universal quarantining wasn’t necessary. Requiring masks for students ensures that when cases appear, fewer kids will have to miss class, Superintendent Dr. Carla Evers told the Sun Herald.
“We’re feeling very confident that we’re going to have less quarantining now that we’re wearing face coverings,” she said. “We feel like we’re able to have a more stable school year.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
