On Wednesday evening, September 30, the Knox County Public Schools were notified by the Knox County Health Department that a student at Lynn Camp Middle/High School had tested positive for COVID-19.
Per the district’s established protocol, we worked closely with the health department to identify students and staff that would have had direct exposure to the student.
Those that have been identified as having a direct exposure through contact tracing by the Knox County Health Department have already been notified by the health department and the school district. A direct exposure is defined as being in contact with a positive case for longer than 10 minutes at a distance of six feet or less.
It is KCPS procedure to notify students and staff when a positive, exposure to a positive, or a potentially positive result occurs. In the event that multiple areas of the school building could be impacted, it is our procedure to issue a public statement making the school community aware. Letters are being distributed to those students who were not in direct contact but were in the same areas as the individual at some point during the school day. The letter contains precautionary information including a listing of symptoms which are stated below.
The individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to school until their quarantine is over. Students that were within direct exposure to the student with the positive case will not return to school until their quarantine is over.
The district is closely monitoring this situation and working with the Knox County Health Department.
The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lack of appetite, loss of smell and taste, diarrhea, headache and body aches.
If these symptoms develop, please self-isolate your child, make contact with the health department, then have a COVID-19 test performed. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Knox County Health Department at 606-277-2135.
We encourage our entire community to follow the recommended public health guidelines of wearing a mask, frequent hand washing or hand sanitizer, and maintaining a social distance whenever possible. Working together, we can reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Knox County.