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COVID-19: Local update on schools; deaths, vaccinations
Donna Smith/The Oak Ridger
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers sent out a letter last Friday afternoon, March 12, notifying families of students of students and staff that an Oak Ridge High School student had tested positive for COVID-19.
The school system was notified that Friday. The student had last been in a school building or a school event on March 5, the letter stated.
All individuals who had potential close contact have been notified so they can quarantine in accordance with Tennessee Department of Health guidelines.
The Oak Ridge Schools Case Count Dashboard on Friday showed 11 students or staff have COVID-19 currently. A total of 320 cases are listed as recovered.
Oakridger
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers recently explained why he had Oak Ridge High School students return to school five days a week although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over.
ORHS students returned to a traditional five-day-a-week schedule inside the school on Monday, Feb. 22. The city’s elementary schools and preschool were already on this in-person schedule.
Previously, to reduce exposure to the novel coronavirus and the size of classes, the school system had ORHS students alternating which days they attended class in person or virtually. The middle school students are continuing with this alternating schedule.
“We’ve got roomies and Zoomies,” Borchers said at a virtual meeting of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge. He referred to students attending in person on a particular day as “roomies” and students watching classes via Zoom as “Zoomies.”
Update on cases of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools
Oakridger
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers has issued several letters recently to schools staff and families of students to report new COVID-19 cases.
He reported one Jefferson Middle School student and two Oak Ridge High School students tested positive, and the school system learned about both on Thursday, Jan. 14.
The JMS student was last in the school Jan. 9 and the ORHS students were last in the school Jan. 5 and Jan. 11.
On Jan. 10, Borchers reported two students, one at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and one at JMS, who had tested positive. The Preschool student was last there Jan. 7 and the JMS student was last there Jan. 5.
COVID-19 deaths rise to 48, 44 in AC, RC
Oakridger
The number of active cases of COVID-19 in the Oak Ridge area continues to rise dramatically, while sadly, the number of deaths also increase.
Over the weekend, the Anderson County death toll from the novel coronavirus rose from 45 reported by the Tennessee Department of Health on Thursday, Dec. 17, to 48 reported on Sunday, Dec. 20.
The number of active cases increased from 873 on Thursday to 1,065 on Sunday.
In Roane County, the number of deaths rose from 40 on Thursday to a total of 44 on Sunday. Active cases during that same time period went from 639 Thursday to 724 Sunday.