With coronavirus cases increasing in Hamilton County, it is moving past the threshold the Hamilton County Schools set for reopening all schools five days a week.
Officials said, "The most current data will determine which phase the district is in when we start school on Aug.
12. The district will continue to track active case data provided by the Hamilton County Health Department and share regular updates with the public.
"The Hamilton County School#HCSReopening plan uses gating criteria based on active case data provided by the Hamilton County Health Department to help determine which phase the district will be in at a particular time. Our gating criteria established thresholds for each phase, and Phase 3 falls between 370 active cases and 1,470 active cases.
"There is a transition period between each phase, and when in the transition period, the district also tracks the number of hospitalizations, patients in ICU in hospitals, and other criteria that will be important after school starts that will include teacher and student absences. The added health data from the Health Department, along with active case numbers, will determine the phase the district operates within while case numbers are in the chart transition area. The transition area between Phase 3 and Phase 2 is between 1,470 and 1,840 active cases.
"For the last few weeks, the number of active cases in Hamilton County has remained below 1,470 cases (0.4%), which would put Hamilton County Schools in Phase 3. However, data from the last few days is trending upward and indicates our community is moving close to meeting the gating criteria for Phase 2, the hybrid learning model where students would attend two days on campus and three days remotely.
"As of today, July 14, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Hamilton County Schools is 1,408 (0.38%), according to reports from the Hamilton County Health Department. The district will keep the chart below prominent on the district website and in communications to allow you to track how the community health situation changes as we move closer to the start of school and how that may impact the delivery of instruction for children.
"We are hopeful that personal protective measures put in place in the community in the last few weeks, including the wearing of masks or face coverings, will reverse the trend, and active cases will decline.
"If active cases and other criteria continue to move upward, here is what Phase 2 would look like for our schools:
- Reduced on-campus attendance for all schools, with two days per week of face-to-face instruction for each student
- Students will work remotely the remaining three days of the week, resulting in a hybrid learning model
- Short-term closure procedures (remote learning) will occur for COVID-19-affected buildings. Phase 2 health and safety guidelines are in place
- To learn more about Phase 2, view our reopening plan
To learn more about COVID-19 data, visit the Hamilton County Health Department's website.