MSDH releases number of COVID cases in schools for week of Sept. 21-25

JACKSON, Miss. (WLOX) - The Mississippi State Department of Health has released its weekly report on the number of coronavirus cases in schools for each county.

The report lists the number of staff members and students who tested positive for the virus, as well as the number of staff and students who were quarantined.

This report is only for Sept. 21-25, 2020.

Click here to view the report in more detail and see a breakdown of the number of cases, quarantines, and outbreaks each school has reported since school started.

The report provided by MSDH lists the number of positive cases and quarantined individuals in schools by county, not by district.

Harrison County, which has the most schools in any of the six southernmost counties, continues to report the highest number of cases and quarantined staff/students for the week.

Each county is broken down below.

George County

The George County numbers are reported as a district, with the individual schools not listed.

The district reports 1-5 confirmed cases of COVID in faculty for the week of Sept. 21-25 and no positive students for that same time. Three staff members and 19 students were quarantined during that period of time due to possible COVID exposure.

Hancock County

In Hancock County, the only three schools reporting COVID cases and/or quarantines for Sept. 21-25 include: Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary, Our Lady Academy, and St. Stanislaus.

Those three schools reported no new cases in staff members or students for that week. Two students and two staff members were quarantined during this time period for possible COVID exposure.

Hancock County School District was not listed on the state’s report, despite moving all students to distance learning on Sept. 30.

Harrison County

A total of 54 schools in Harrison County, which is most of them, are broken down individually to report COVID cases and/or quarantines for Sept. 21-25.

Of those, seven schools report between 1-5 new confirmed cases in faculty for the week.

15 schools report between 1-5 cases of students who have tested positive for the virus. Additionally, Harrison Central High reported 10 students who have tested positive.

D’Iberville High, Harrison Central High, and Pineville Elementary each reported one new COVID outbreak for the week.

The total of 28 staff members in 17 schools in the county were quarantined over the five day period due to possible COVID exposure.

618 students were quarantined for the week, with the largest number of students in Harrison Central High (137), Long Beach High (95), North Woolmarket Elementary and Middle (60), and Pass Christian Middle (53).

Jackson County

A total of 43 schools in Jackson County, which is most of them, are broken down individually to report COVID cases and/or quarantines for Sept. 21-25.

Of those, nine schools report between 1-5 new confirmed cases in faculty for the week. St. Martin North Elementary also reported 9 faculty members who tested positive this week.

12 schools report between 1-5 cases of students who have tested positive for the virus. St. Martin North Elementary also reported one new COVID outbreak for this week.

A total of 8 staff members in 5 schools in the county were quarantined over the five day period due to possible COVID exposure.

110 students were quarantined for the week, with the largest number of students at St. Martin North Elementary (22), Pascagoula High (13), and Cherokee Elementary (13).

Pearl River County

A total of 23 schools in Pearl River County, which is most of them, are broken down individually to report COVID cases and/or quarantines for Sept. 21-25.

Of those, 3 schools report between 1-5 new confirmed cases in faculty for the week.

5 schools report between 1-5 cases of students who have tested positive for the virus. No outbreaks were reported at schools in the county.

A total of 12 staff members in 7 schools in the county were quarantined over the five day period due to possible COVID exposure.

58 students were quarantined for the week, with the largest number of students at Picayune Memorial High (17), Pearl River Central High (10), and Picayune Early Head Start (8).

Stone County

The Stone County numbers are reported as a district, with the individual schools not listed.

The district reports 1-5 confirmed cases of COVID in faculty for the week of Sept. 21-25 and no positive students for that same time. One staff member and 27 students were quarantined during that period of time due to possible COVID exposure.

Mississippi K-12 schools make weekly reports of cases among students, teachers and staff, number of outbreaks, and teachers and students under quarantine as a result of COVID-19 exposure. An outbreak in a school setting is defined as 3 or more individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the same group within a 14-day period.

Some schools report case numbers between 1-5, which is done to protect the personal identity of the effected student or staff member.

Some schools and/or districts are not listed on this report, which means they have not submitted the weekly report to state health officials. In August, state officials said they would begin collecting and releasing information from schools on the number of COVID cases, outbreaks, and quarantines that occur each week.

Note: These cases have been directly reported to MSDH by each school, and may not yet have appeared in the state and county totals of cases reported by laboratories.

Click the links below to read school reports for previous weeks:

Sept. 14-18, 2020

Sept. 7-11, 2020

Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2020

Aug. 24-28, 2020

Aug. 17-21, 2020

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