Fewer Horry County Schools students could be quarantined despite rising cases. Here’s why
Two key changes to quarantine guidance from the state health department mean Horry County Schools (HCS) could soon have fewer students stuck in isolation.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) altered its recommendations as the highly contagious omicron variant spurs record caseloads across the state, interrupting school operations in some cases. The health department now allows schools to accept at-home COVID-19 tests for a student to return to school in certain cases, and has shifted the level of exposure necessary to quarantine.
Those two alterations could mean fewer HCS students will be out of school, likely a relief to parents, several of whom have taken to school board meetings and social media to complain about having healthy kids stuck in quarantine throughout the school year.
A “cohort,” for COVID-19 purposes, is a group of five or more people, like a classroom or sports team. Under new DHEC and HCS rules, a cohort only needs to quarantine if 20% or more of the people in a cohort are absent or sent home early because of testing positive or showing symptoms of COVID-19. Under previous rules, the entire cohort would have to quarantine if three or more cases were reported inside the cohort, according to Velna Allen, who runs HCS health services and student services.
Any individual can avoid quarantine if they show proof of having all COVID vaccines they’re eligible for and aren’t showing symptoms.
By shifting the necessary quarantines from a fixed number of cases to a percentage of positive tests or symptoms, this could keep more students in the classroom, Allen said at a school board meeting Monday.
“If you have a classroom or a cohort of 15 or less, then this is a more restrictive rule, but if you have at least 15 or more in your cohort, then it actually may help us from quarantining,” Allen said.
Along with looser quarantine rules, HCS will now accept rapid antigen tests as a means to return to school after five days of quarantine following exposure. There are some stipulations:
- Two negative tests are provided to the school.
- Those tests are taken at least 24 hours apart within seven days of exposure.
- One test must be recorded between days five and seven of exposure.
- Anyone with symptoms cannot return to school.
- A mask must be worn through day 10 following exposure.
The updated rules come as the fast-spreading omicron variant has taken a foothold in Horry County and across the state. Horry County recorded more than 4,300 cases in the first week of the year, and HCS has seen an uptick as well. More than 750 students and staff members have an active case of the coronavirus, according to district data.
School board member Helen Smith raised concerns that the new quarantine rules may be difficult for parents to follow, and asked how they’ll be able to know what to do in their specific situation. Allen and vice chair Neil James pointed out the information is outlined on the HCS website, including a graphic explaining the quarantine rules for each scenario.
The varying scenarios could also introduce more work for teachers and administrative staff, Smith said, since they have to track which students need to be wearing masks and who is in quarantine at what time. Masks aren’t required at HCS for everyone, only those who return to school between days six and 10 after exposure.
Teachers will have a symbol in their attendance system delineating which students need to wear masks and which students are in quarantine at any given time, Allen said. Administrators are also working with parents to send them specific guidelines on quarantines if their child is exposed, Allen said.
