COVID-19 Outbreak at Bear Creek
Student wears mask while entering school. Photo Credits to Lewis-Palmer School District
September 1, 2020
On August 24th, 2020, parents received an email notifying them of a COVID-19 case at Bear Creek Elementary. Two people at the elementary school have tested positive for coronavirus, and are in self-quarantine. An official outbreak has been declared, and all parties in contact with them are required to stay in a two week quarantine.
All students and staff members who came in close contact with the two have been asked to stay home and quarantine for a two week period. Schools will not shut down unless ten percent or more of the student population is in quarantine or more than five separate cases are confirmed.
Siblings of Bear Creek students will be allowed to attend their school unless they or a sibling tests positive for COVID-19.
All parents were asked to monitor their children for any symptoms of COVID-19 and notify the school if they appear to be sick. As for testing, they recommend only getting tested if your child has symptoms.
Lewis-Palmer School District is in an active partnership with El Paso County Public Health Department, working to ensure the safety of students and staff. The district is watching over the schools, and planning for all possible outcomes. All information about the confirmed cases have been shared with the Health Department, but not with any students or parents. Dr. KC Summer is the district’s superintendent. He has been working to keep everyone in the district safe.
“As we are working very closely with El Paso County Public Health,” Dr. Summer said, “the algorithms we are provided in making determinations about when people should stay home, who needs to stay home, how long they need to stay home, and what the different variables that we have to account for in that process. This is a 24/7, literally every hour of the day task.”
After being back for only a couple weeks, our district has already had a COVID-19 outbreak. There are many unanswered questions, such as will Bear Creek shut down? Will outbreaks spread throughout the district? Only time will tell how the coronavirus will affect our district.
