Stankus: No confirmed COVID-19 cases in Upshur County Schools currently

BUCKHANNON – Upshur County Schools Superintendent Dr. Sara Lewis-Stankus told My Buckhannon on Thursday evening there are currently no cases of COVID-19 in the local school system.

Posts on social media about a possible COVID-19 case at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School are not accurate. The superintendent Thursday evening confirmed there are no positive cases there or at any other schools in the county.

With local sports teams now competing against schools that are reporting COVID-19 cases, Stankus also addressed statewide guidance for how positive case are treated.

Stankus sent a document from the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources which says when there is one student/staff member with confirmed COVID-19 within a school the following response should be taken:

• Student/staff member stays home until released from isolation (usually 10 days after symptom onset, 24 hours fever-free and improving symptoms).

• Class/core group stays home for a 14-day quarantine irrespective of test results.

• If school is not practicing core grouping or there is some mixing of grouping, work with local health department to identify close contacts, including providing class schedules and class rosters exclude contacts until released from quarantine.

• WVDHHR will determine when testing is appropriate for close contacts.

As of Friday, the Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department was reporting 63 total cases locally (62 confirmed and one probable) while the DHHR data includes only 60. Six cases of COVID-19 are currently active in Upshur County, according to the health department. Reported cases range in age from 2 to 85 years old.