Of the 11,000 Greenville County Schools employees, 1,700 were absent Jan. 10 — most of them COVID-19 related, the district announced Monday night.
As such, officials are considering going to eLearning once again, according to GCS director of media relations Tim Waller. Officials will make decisions about eLearning on a school-by-school basis rather than on a district-wide scale, he said.
“While the district will provide as much advance notice as possible, because of the fluid nature of these circumstances, there is no way to accurately predict the number of absences far in advance,” Waller said. He advised parents to have a plan in place should their students’ school be moved to eLearning. Officials will try to make sure parents are informed as soon as possible through School Messenger, the Backpack parent portal and through media outlets.
DHEC has updated its quarantine guidelines for those who’ve been exposed to COVID-19:
- Students 5-17 years old must have been fully vaccinated (but not required to have a booster) to avoid having to quarantine after exposure to the virus.
- Students 18 years or older must have received the initial shots and the booster to avoid quarantine.
- Students 18 years or older who’ve had a documented positive COVID-19 case within the past 90 days can also avoid quarantine.
DHEC also allows the use of at-home rapid tests in determining when those in quarantine can return to work or class.
The school has also opened testing sites only for school staff and students. They are:
- Fountain Inn High School, 644 Quillen Ave., Fountain Inn, student parking lot (access off Cross Road)
- Mt. Anderson Support Center, 100 Blassingame Road, Greenville, Southside High School football field parking lot
- Northside Park, 101 W. Darby Road, Greenville, Otter Creek Water Park parking area
Sites will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on the weekends from 1 to 4 p.m., with extended hours on Jan. 15-16 and Jan. 22-23 from 1-6 p.m.
To qualify for early return from quarantine:
- Must remain symptom-free
- Negative test collected no sooner than day 4 of quarantine
- Test results automatically submitted to GCS
- New return to school/work date emailed to student/employee
- Note: Do not return to GCS facility until guidance is received
