BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — COVID-19 is already causing disruptions for some students who went back to class. At this moment, thousands of Kentucky students are at home instead of in school due to quarantines.
What You Need To Know
- Thousands of Kentucky students are in quarantine
- Warren County Public Schools had over 1,700 students in quarantine at the end of the school day Monday
- Jefferson County Public Schools ended its first week of class with nearly 1,000 quarantines
- Fayette County Schools reported 40 active cases with nearly 100 students in quarantine
Warren County Schools, which was one of the first in the state to go back, reported roughly 250 active COVID-19 cases on its website. A district spokesperson told Spectrum News 1 there were over 1,700 students in quarantine at the end of the school day Monday.
Students returned to school there on Aug. 4. At the time, masks were optional. Masks were required for students in the district starting Aug. 11.
Though Warren County Schools appears to be hit particularly hard, COVID-19 is impacting schools in all corners of the state.
One week into the new school year, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) reported 209 active cases with 945 students in quarantine.
In Fayette County Public Schools, the district reported 40 active cases with nearly 100 students in quarantine. Those were the numbers posted Tuesday afternoon, though the district's COVID-19 dashboard appears to be down as of the publishing of this story.
Parents will be contacted by their child's school district if their kid comes in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. In JCPS, students will be asked to quarantine if they are within 3 feet of someone for more than 15 minutes who tests positive. That applies to all unvaccinated students, even if they are wearing a mask.
JCPS said vaccinated students will not have to quarantine, so long as they are not displaying symptoms.
Masks are required on all school buses, but with the driver shortage across the state, there is often not enough room for students to distance over 3 feet apart while on the bus. That certainly does not help the quarantine volume.
Knott County Schools will be closed through Friday. The district posted on Facebook that the closure is in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The closure includes all extracurricular activities, school-sponsored events and practices.
"I want to ensure you that student safety and staff safety will continue to be our top priority," a Facebook post from the district read.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is available for anyone over 12 years old. Currently, people under 12 are not eligible for a vaccine.