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How Covid is handled at HR

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With COVID-19 cases still on the rise, there have been a lot of changes to daily life to control the spread of this dangerous virus. But even with all of these safety measures in place, the risk of contracting this virus still remains. So what are local public schools doing to identify new COVID-19 cases and keep students safe, and what does this process look like?

DCSD and all the schools in it are required to follow the state and local health department guidelines for quarantine and isolation. If HR were to receive information about a positive COVID-19 test, then they are required to contact the Tri-County Health Department to confirm the positive case. “Once we know that it is definitely a positive, we will start to do contact tracing. Here we look at all the people this person could have come in contact with in class, on the bus, or at sports and clubs, etc,” said Adriana Hatch, school nurse. 

Once all of the tracers have been identified, they are all placed on a 14 day quarantine to ensure if they have the virus or not. “Even if a student were to test negative during their quarantine, they still have to finish their 14 day quarantine and cannot participate in any in-person clubs, sports, or extracurricular activities,” said Hatch. “This is in part due to the state and Tri-County Health Department guidelines as well because some people are asymptomatic or may not start to show any symptoms until towards the end of their quarantine.” 


Infographic by Samuel Hilsden. Source: CDC

These guidelines have also had a big effect on students’ sports seasons. Olivia Divine, senior, who plays club soccer for Real Colorado, which follows similar guidelines, said it has had a big effect on their season. “When our team found out that a girl had tested positive for COVID-19, it was all a bit of a surprise to us as we didn’t know what to expect,” said Divine. “Our coach had to tell the league director about the positive case and our entire team had to go into lockdown for 2 weeks. This made it very hard to keep up with all our workouts and get the same quality out of them as we couldn’t practice together and it led to us missing our preseason and not playing as well in our first couple games as a result.”

Everyone has an important role to play in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 at HR and keep others safe. Hatch said, “It is extremely important that students and staff monitor their symptoms and temperature before coming to school.” The CDC also strongly advises regular hand washing, use of hand sanitizer and to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. They also stated that mask wearing and social distancing are also extremely important in public places to reduce your chances of catching the virus.

Samuel Hilsden, Online Editor

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How Covid is handled at HR