Over 3,700 Clarksville-Montgomery County students quarantined for COVID-19, new dashboard released

Just a week ago, on Aug. 25, there were 584 self-reported, positive COVID-19 student cases. There are now 832.

By Keely Quinlan September 1, 2021 5:32 pm

Clarksville NowLee Erwin.Teachers and CMCSS administration greet 6th-8th grade students for their first half-day of the 2021-22 school year at Richview Middle School Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As of Wednesday, 3,773 students are quarantined for COVID-19 exposure, and 832 of those are self-reported, positive cases according an update sent to Clarksville-Montgomery County School System families Wednesday evening.

Just a week ago, on Aug. 25, there were 584 self-reported, positive COVID-19 student cases, according to the new CMCSS COVID-19 district dashboard, which was released Wednesday.

Community spread

In addition to student cases, there are 97 positive employee cases, and 171 employees are on COVID-19 related leave.

CMCSS said they have been reviewing information and plans from the Tennessee Department of Education and legalities and best practices for a COVID-19 dashboard for this school year, the update said.

The Tennessee Department of Health’s data indicates Montgomery County’s spread of COVID-19 has continued to increase, and is now at 1.083%, the update said.

The school district also urged families to keep their students home when they are sick, to cover coughs and sneezes, to wash hands often and to wear a face covering in common areas and crowded spaces.

To determine whether or not a student should be excluded based on illness symptoms, the district has asked that families continue to refer to the CMCSS Return to School/Work Flowchart.

Masks in schools

On Aug. 27, the Tennessee Department of Health updated its quarantine guidance for close contacts.

That new guidance states that if both the COVID positive individual and the exposed individual are correctly wearing appropriate facial masks at school, the close contact is not required to quarantine if they do not have symptoms.

“The 3,773 students who are excluded due to COVID-19 are students who are not receiving in-person instruction,” the update said. “Providing high-quality, in-person instruction is crucial in any year, but as the district addresses learning loss from the past 18 months of disruptions, we need as much support as possible to keep students learning each day.”

To help accomplish this, the district asked that all students, employees, and visitors should wear an appropriate facial covering in buildings and on transportation when physical distancing cannot be maintained.