Bulloch County Schools released their COVID numbers Sunday. The Bulloch County Schools system reported this past week, WEEK FOUR of school from August 22 through August 28, 245 COVID positive cases and 2,192 students and staff were exposed to COVID. They also reported 26 clusters identified.
In four weeks since school began Bulloch County Schools have reported 1,117 total positive COVID cases, 10,675 total students and staff were exposed to a COVID positive individual and 116 total clusters identified.
A cluster as two or more cases associated with the same location, group, or event around the same time.
Statesboro High School again reported the highest number of COVID positive cases and exposures. SHS reported 42 COVID positive cases and 423 students and staff who were exposed to a COVID positive individual.
Southeast Bulloch Middle School had the second highest number of positive cases and exposed the second highest number of students. SEB reported 25 COVID positive cases and 280 students and staff who were exposed to a COVID positive individual.
Below is Bulloch County Schools full report so you can see how your child's school is doing:
Helpful information in identifying or dealing with COVID
Pediatrician Offices Overwhelmed
This week Grice Connect reported that pediatrician offices in Statesboro were seeing a tremendously high number of COVID positive children. One patricians office said they were receiving hundreds of voicemails daily. They DO NOT have the staff to handle this volume of calls or meet all of the patients needs.
Georgia see student cases soar
Amber Schmidtke, PhD is a college professor, medical educator and public health microbiologist who has been following COVID extensively in Georgia. Below are the trends she is seeing statewide based on last weeks data. Read her full report here.
In the past, it used to be that college aged adults (aged 18-29) were the primary drivers of infection for the Georgia population. But they have been replaced by children aged 10-17.
Healthcare workers overwhelmed
Grice Connect is hearing from healthcare workers who are not sure how much more they can take. They are baffled that no one in Statesboro and Bulloch County seem to believe what is really happening inside our hospital.
They are frustrated by the fact that this many people didn’t have to be sick. If citizens would listen to their doctors and get the vaccine. We can stop this madness.
Read the full story below along with two other stores addressing nursing shortage and healthcare workers fatigue.
Grice Connect: Statesboro – Bulloch our Nurses, Doctors, Paramedics & All Frontline Healthcare workers need our help NOW!
Georgia Health Network: As low vaccination rate fuels surge, Georgia hospital workers feel frustration, fatigue
AJC: Georgia nursing shortage at crisis levels
The Georgia Department of Health is reporting NO REPORT ON WEEKEND FOR COVID positive cases in Bulloch. A positivity test rate of 27.2% means testing is tremendously inadequate. A positive rate below 5% indicates adequate testing. This indicates there are MANY MORE cases than are being reported.
CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS TO COVID TESTING QUESTIONS
CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST OF FREE VACCINE LOCATIONS
All local pediatrician offices are reporting overwhelming demand. They have been flooded with calls from parents wanting appointments or a doctors note so their children can return to school.
This is a confusing and honestly, kind of scary, time. So we're BACK! With pediatricians answering your toughest questions about the delta variant, kids and COVID, breakthrough infections, masks and more. Find answers! Go to https://t.co/YoipUbQzaz to watch, share and learn. pic.twitter.com/cH79sJsZ5S
— Rhea Boyd MD, MPH (@RheaBoydMD) August 19, 2021
Here are some helpful recommendations provided on Bulloch Pediatrics Facebook Page:
- Children who have a known exposure to COVID but are asymptomatic DO NOT need a physician's note to return to school.
- Per the BOE guidelines, it is your choice as a parent whether or not to quarantine your child.
- If you decide to quarantine them and they remain symptom-free, you can return them to school at any time without a doctor's excuse.
- Children who are symptomatic and are sent home from school must quarantine for 10 days.
- If a parent believes that their illness is not due to Covid, they can return before 10 days with a doctor's excuse.
- ALL CHILDREN WITH CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS WILL BE REFERRED TO A TESTING CENTER.
- A positive test will result in your child needing to quarantine for the entire 10 days.
- If your child tests negative and their symptoms have resolved, doctors will provide an excuse for your child to return to school as long as the test was a PCR (send out) test.
- If your child's Covid test is negative and they are still having symptoms, we will try to bring them into the office to determine the cause of the symptoms and then determine if they are able to return to school.
- In most cases the symptoms doctors are seeing in children are mild and therefore, they are asking parents to simply keep their children at home and monitor them.
FREE PCR COVID TESTING:
STATESBORO WALGREENS IS NOT DOING FREE COVID TESTING
DPH downtown Free testing is available first come Monday Through Friday, 8 AM to 3 PM. However you must be preregistered to get a COVID test. You may call 1-855-473-4374, and a DPH agent will assist you with registration. You can also register online by clicking here.
Once you are registered you can go to the testing site located in the parking lot located on the East Side of Railroad Street between Hill St and Courtland Street under a white drive thru tent.
This is a PCR test which takes 3 to 5 days to get the results.
Rapid Antigen COVID Testing:
All urgent cares and most doctors offices and pharmacies have rapid testing capability. However these are not free. Insurance will cover the test if it is performed in a doctors office or urgent care.
Insurance will not pay for test done in a pharmacy. Test begin at $75. You get the results in about 15 minutes for rapid tests.
EGRMC IS NOT DOING COIVD TESTING AT THE HOSPITAL OR IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
95% of ALL COVID patients at EGRMC are NOT VACCINATED
Majority of Georgia Hospitalizations and Deaths during the Unvaccinated Surge are Unvaccinated
