Tupelo Schools reports 55 COVID-19 cases among students during first three days of school
Aug. 6—TUPELO — The Tupelo Public School District reported 55 positive COVID-19 cases among students and six among teachers during the first three days of the school year, according to information released by the school on Friday.
There were 18 cases among students in pre-K through second grade, 11 in third through fifth grade, 11 in sixth through eighth grade and 15 at the high school.
There were 224 total students considered close contacts to a positive case. A total of 279 students were quarantined this week.
During the first week of the previous school year, only 18 students tested positive for the virus.
Gregg Ellis, Director of Marketing & Communications for Tupelo Schools, said it is the district's understanding that none of the cases were the result of transmission in school.
It appears the positive cases are students who contracted COVID in the community and came to school with it.
The district also reported six positive cases among teachers — two in pre-K through second grade, two in third through fifth grade and two at the high school. Ten teachers were quarantined.
Four members of the support staff tested positive for the virus — three at the pre-K through second grade level and one at the high school. Eight members of the support staff were quarantined.
In an email to district parents sent out on Friday afternoon, TPSD Superintendent Dr. Rob Picou said the district is attempting to do what it can to keep kids both safe and in school.
"Everyone is tired of COVID. We all want it to be over. This summer, it felt like it was over. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case," Picou wrote. "The TPSD Board of Trustees and the TPSD Team will do whatever we need to do to keep our schools open every day and to keep our staff and students safe. The community needs its schools, and the schools need its community."
The Tupelo Public School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Monday to require universal masking for all students and staff members, regardless of vaccination status.
School officials say it's a temporary measure that they hope will reduce the number of quarantines as the delta variant spreads rapidly across Northeast Mississippi.
"We believe the mask requirement will be temporary, as we continue to review CDC and MSDH guidelines and community spread to ensure a safe environment for all of our staff and students," Picou wrote in his letter to parents, Friday. "Please know we are working with MSDH and representatives from NMMC to identify measurable indicators in Lee County that will let us know when it is safe to relax the mask requirement."
