Quarantine numbers remain high in Floyd County Schools; health director assures classrooms are safe

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) - More than 280 students and staff were quarantined as of Wednesday within the Floyd County Schools district.

Although quarantine numbers remain high, Floyd County Schools Health Director Annette Harris-Ward assures the community their classrooms are safe.

“Most of the positive COVID cases that we’re having contacts for is for people from the outside,” Harris-Ward said.

She said the facts show a lot of the cases within the district are community spread, mainly related from the public attending family gatherings.

“You can see on our charts we have had a few staff members test positive, but it’s grandparents, brothers, and sisters. They go to large family gatherings, and someone tests positive there. As a result, those children are quarantined due to the fact they are a positive contact for that adult.”

On Wednesday, Prestonsburg Elementary transitioned to virtual learning until Nov. 2.

Three actives cases at Prestonsburg Elementary put 139 students and teachers into active quarantine.

“For example, if we have a student who is sitting in the middle room, and they take their mask off to eat. They are usually doing that in one room. That’s an indicator that we may have exposure to those kids in the classroom,” Harris-Ward said. “So, as a precautionary measure, we quarantine those students to make sure their home with their parents.”

While the district can’t control the exposure out in public, Harris-Ward says it’s imperative for the public to take safety measures when out.

“That’s not something we can control, other than begging our community to please use precautions, be careful about large family gatherings, and keep the kids in their masks so that we can have some normalcy,” Harris-Ward said.