First school district to open now closing for two weeks because of coronavirus

August 21, 2020

Steve Rogers,

https://www.facebook.com/greencoschools/videos/433882184193695

GREEN COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – One week after opening its schools with -in-person classes, the Green County School District in Central Kentucky is closing for two weeks because the coronavirus rate is rising rapidly i the community.

Superintendent William Hodges made the announcement on social media and the district’s web sites Friday morning. The closure is effective Monday ad will last two weeks.

“Today our community Active Case Index has reached 7.98. We have had a great week in our school system and are unaware of any student cases, but the increase in community cases has caused us to reach our threshold for transitioning into the “red phase” of our reopening plan,” the district’s post said.

The county has 48 active coronavirus cases, according to its health department.

The district has about 1,600 students in a county with a population of about 11,000.

“We would like to take this opportunity to explain a little bit more about the Active Case Index and what it represents. The Active Case Index looks at active cases in the community. This is not solely reflective of active cases within the schools itself, but for our community as a whole. Currently there are no positive student or employee cases that are included within the index,” the statement continued.

“Currently, every single case (100%) is from the community. Our mitigation processes are working. We are transitioning to virtual learning out of an abundance of caution as community cases rise. We plan to resume in-person instruction on September 8 if our Active Case Index has returned to the “yellow phase” levels,” the statement said, noting the district does have one possible positive test in a employee.n

“The district will continue to remain transparent with our community and we will continue to take necessary precautions in order to maintain the health and safety of our students, their families, and our staff. Thank you for your patience and support during this trying time!”

Gov. Andy Beshear has been urging school districts across the state to start classes online ad delay in-person instruction until Sept. 28 at least. Many districts have but a few, including Green, haven’t. Some others are scheduled to start at least some i-person classes next week.

According to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department which covers Green ad nine other counties, said Green had 88.6 cases per 10,000 population, more than 10 points higher than the 75.6 rate for the 10-county district.