Habersham County Schools recorded a 23% increase in active COVID-19 cases this week. Still, overall, the number of cases remains relatively low.
According to figures released on September 3 by Habersham Schools’ Director of Nursing and Health Services Crystal Holcomb, there are 95 active cases among students and staff, up from 77 last week. Fifty-eight of the current cases are students. Based on the student enrollment of 6,995 the district reported at the beginning of the year, that’s less than 1% of the student population.
According to Holcomb, there are 32 active school staff COVID-19 cases and 5 non-school staff cases, accounting for just over 3% of the system’s 1,148 employees.
The majority of the active student cases are at Habersham Central High School (11), Baldwin Elementary School (9), and North Habersham Middle School (8). The high school has the highest total number of cases, with 16 combined among students and staff. Baldwin Elementary has 14 total cases.
| System Data | ||
| Active Student COVID-19 Cases | 58 | |
| Active School Staff COVID-19 Cases | 32 | |
| Active Non-School Staff COVID-19 Cases | 5 | |
| Elementary | Active Student Cases | Active Staff Cases |
| Baldwin | 9 | 5 |
| Clarkesville | 5 | 3 |
| Cornelia | 0 | 1 |
| Demorest | 2 | 6 |
| Fairview | 2 | 4 |
| Hazel Grove | 3 | 3 |
| Level Grove | 3 | 1 |
| Woodville | 1 | 0 |
| Secondary | Active Student Cases | Active Staff Cases |
| North Habersham | 8 | 2 |
| South Habersham | 3 | 0 |
| Wilbanks | 4 | 1 |
| Ninth Grade Academy | 5 | 0 |
| Success Academy | 2 | 1 |
| Habersham Central | 11 | 5 |
Now Habersham asked Director Holcomb for the number of students/faculty/staff in quarantine. While she did not initially respond to our request for that information on September 3, four days later, on Tuesday, September 7, Holcomb replied, “There are currently 56 students in quarantine as close contacts to a Covid-19 case from the school setting.”
Taking “reasonable precautions”
School system administrators put Holcomb in charge of compiling and reporting the data to parents, the media, and others who ask. However, the school system does not intend to openly distribute the numbers on its website like last year and as other area school systems are doing.
“We are making every effort to protect our students from the angst and mental trauma associated with the virus,” Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper told Now Habersham.
Those wanting to obtain COVID updates must contact Director Holcomb at [email protected] or speak with their child’s school principal.
Holcomb says the school system is taking “reasonable precautions” to address the virus.
“Our custodial staff will continue to focus on sanitizing high touch areas throughout our schools. In the Habersham County School System, students and staff that test positive for Covid-19 are required to isolate according to public health guidelines. Our school system is also continuing to implement contact tracing to identify those who may have been exposed to the positive person.”
Holcomb reminds those in the school community to continue good hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing. Parents should continue to monitor their children’s health before sending them to school each day. If your child has been sick, make sure they’re symptom-free for 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, before sending them back to school.
In addition to parent monitoring, middle and high school students should self-monitor before attending school each day, Holcomb says. “It is important to stay home when you are sick to prevent spreading COVID-19 or other illnesses.”
Habersham County’s largest private school, Tallulah Falls School, announced Friday it’s returning to in-person instruction on September 7 after moving online for a week due to the area’s high community spread.
Habersham’s high positivity rate
Data from the Georgia Department of Public Health shows Habersham County’s two-week test positivity rate is now 25.8%, which is among the highest it’s been since the pandemic started. (Habersham’s two-week COVID test positivity rate was 16.4% on August 1 and 1.5% on July 1). Public health officials blame the spread on the surging delta variant and the county’s low vaccination rate.
While Habersham’s vaccination rate has increased slightly in the past month, as of August 30, only 33% of county residents were fully vaccinated and 39% reported having at least one dose. That’s not nearly enough say medical experts to stop the spread.
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Habersham County has recorded 6,190 cases of COVID — 651 in the last two weeks.
The county’s per capita rate stands at 13,515 as of September 3. Since the start of the pandemic, 160 Habersham County residents have died from COVID or COVID-related complications.
Georgia passed a grim milestone on September 3, topping over 20,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
This article has been updated with quarantine figures for Habersham Schools
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