Carson City School District providing weekly COVID-19 updates

The Carson City School District is offering weekly online updates on active COVID-19 cases on its website for community members interested in staying informed on monitoring the health of its staff and students.

Superintendent Richard Stokes announced Tuesday to the school board in his regular report the district had received inquiries about its COVID reporting. The district partners with Carson City Health and Human Services to identify any positive cases and determine when contact tracing needs to begin and whether staff members or students would need to be isolated from school property.

The administration responded by creating a link to information, “Weekly COVID-19 information available here,” on its webpage, www.carsoncityschools.com.

The page includes a snapshot by school or department, such as transportation, with active cases and recoveries. The active cases are not considered outbreaks, or two or more COVID-19 cases confirmed in a lab within a two-week period.

Stokes, in a statement from the school district, encouraged parents and community members to respond to messages from Deloitte, which is providing contact tracing services for CCHHS.

“It is critical that we work together with the health department to contact these individuals and inform them of the need to quarantine,” Stokes said in the statement.

During Tuesday night’s board meeting, he also informed board members some community members have asked questions regarding cases of COVID-19 involving students younger than 18. Stokes said community members might assume if cases are younger than 18, they are automatically identified as CCSD students, and “that’s not true.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re students within our district,” Stokes said. “They could be varianced to other districts.”

This new system of reporting now allows the school district to explain these cases in greater detail, he said.