Pottawattamie County Public Health and Riverside Community School District have communicated that Three (3) students in the Middle/High School Building have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 over the last two weeks. Contact and location tracing has been completed by the district and Public Health and limited exposure was determined. Any students and staff identified as having primary exposure have been notified and appropriate measures as identified by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Public Health and the Iowa Department of Education have been instituted. The district continues to utilize all recommended mitigation measures at school to provide a healthy and safe environment for the students and staff.
No students or staff members with major symptoms or a Positive Covid-19 diagnosis are attending school or will be allowed to attend school or participate in activities. We are implementing strict mitigation protocols. We have no evidence of school, or activities spread of COVID-19 all cases have been attributed to community spread.
I also want to thank Pottawattamie County Department of Health, our school nurse, Meredith Martens, and our Activities Director Darrell Frain. They are spending countless hours ensuring that guidance is followed and that all students and athletes stay safe!!
Pottawattamie County has given the district access to a tool that allows us to check daily the % positive-14 day average for the county. The percentage determines what type of instruction we will provide. As of today (9-25-2020), Pottawattamie County is 10.4% positive-14 day average. That indicates that we will provide Traditional Face to Face/Hybrid Instruction with the options for parents to request approval for Remote Learning.
You can access this information at: https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/percent-school-district-positive-analysis
You will see that decision points are at:
· 0-5% None to Minimal
· 6-14% Minimal to Moderate-Where we are at now
· 15-20% Substantial Controlled
· >20% Substantial Uncontrolled
Decisions are based on the %, student and staff absenteeism and in collaboration with local and state Public Health and the Iowa Department of Education. Please find the Riverside-Return to Learn Safely and Responsibly Plan with more information in the October Newsletter.