MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mon County School officials have confirmed a staff member at Morgantown High School has tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member is in quarantine, according to superintendent Dr. Eddie Campbell.
“We were able to identify the individuals that are defined as “close contacts” and be able to have those folks begin their quarantine, their 14-day quarantine process,”Dr. Campbell said.
When the administration learned about the infection protocols, including contact tracing and disinfection began immediately.
“COVID Killer Cleaning Crew as we call them,”Dr. Campbell said,”They were able to come in immediately, to the infected area, in fact we disinfected the entire school not just the area the infected individual spent their time in.”
Even while the county is in “red” status, there is a small group of special needs students that coming to buildings for in-person instruction. The students have disabilities that make online learning not feasible.
“We’re practicing all of the CDC guidelines and protocols,”Dr. Campbell said,”This is one of those things we’ve worked hand-in-hand with the local health department on to make sure we have a safe environment for the students and staff.”
While many school systems across the state have expressed concern over PPE levels, Dr. Campbell says they recognized the potential problem early and began to stockpile protective and cleaning equipment.
“We have warehoused everything from masks to gowns, to face shields, gloves, sanitizer and hand sanitizer,”Dr. Campbell said.
While people like the president of the West Virginia Education Association, Dale Lee have expressed concerns about students and teacher safety, Dr. Campbell says the protocols worked in this instance and will likely work again.
“There’s still going to be concerns and we recognize that and we’ll continue to answer questions as we get them and work through the situation,”Dr. Campbell said,”But, I feel really good about where we ended up.”