UTC Working To Track COVID On Campus

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department are collaborating in contact tracing efforts ...

BY SHAW RYAN & TOM BODKIN

The Hamilton County Health Department, in partnership with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is notifying the community of potential COVID-19 exposures at Kappa Sigma Fraternity House and with members of the Delta Zeta sorority ver the past week.

Case investigations revealed that UTC students and members of the community who visited or are presently residing at the fraternity house may have been and/or are currently exposed to individuals during their infectious period of COVID-19.

If you have been exposed to someone with the virus, you should quarantine from others for 14 days, monitor yourself for symptoms, and get tested.

Case investigations revealed that UTC students and members of the community who visited or are presently residing at the Kappa Sigma Fraternity House fraternity house may have been and/ or are currently exposed to individuals during their infectious period of COVID-19.

At the same time, Delta Zeta sorority leadership and members are assisting the University in its efforts to pursue student contacts who may have been exposed. The University is grateful for their cooperation and assistance.

The UTC COVID-19 Campus Support Team is pursuing student contacts who may have had exposure. Those who have been in contact with members of the franternity and sorority since Aug. 8 are encouraged get tested and self-monitor for symptoms.

UTC students with potential exposure are asked to to call the campus office of Student Outreach and Support at (423) 425-2299.

For their own benefit and that of others who may have been exposed to COVID-19, members of the UTC community are urged to be responsive to communication efforts by the UTC COVID-19 Campus Support Team. Cooperation with these efforts is critical to mitigate the spread of the virus.

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department is engaged in efforts to identify and contact residents of Chattanooga and surrounding communities who may have been exposed.

Members of the community with potential exposure are asked to call the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department at (423) 209- 8383. Anyone with exposure is encouraged to be tested.

“If you have been exposed to someone with the virus, you should quarantine from others for 14 days, monitor yourself for symptoms, and get tested,” said Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes.

If COVID-19 symptoms occur, do not leave your house except to visit a testing location or healthcare provider. If symptoms become worse, seek medical care quickly. Symptoms of COVID-19 may include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, recent change in smell or taste, headache, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, or other symptoms as recognized by the CDC.

“The University is taking all necessary precautions to protect the UTC community as fall semester classes began Monday,” says UTC Chief Epidemiologist, Dawn Ford, “Months of planning and preparations at UTC have resulted in extensive health and safety protocols and precautions in place for the protection of students, faculty and staff.”

Information on locations and times for free COVID-19 testing in the community can be found online at health.hamiltontn.org

These sites are open to the public without an appointment. Free transportation is available. Call (423) 315-3994 to make a reservation Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2p.m. Rides to the testing sites must be scheduled the previous day.

Hamilton County Schools Launch Website To Report District COVID-19 Data

The health and safety of the staff and students in our schools are our top priority. Our schools have taken the necessary precautions provided by the CDC and health professionals to create a safe learning environment for our school family to start a new school year.

Hamilton County Schools wants to be as transparent as possible with the public about what is happening in our schools, so we’ve created a COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard that you can find on our website at www.hcde.org

The page includes the number of active confirmed COVID-19 cases and exposures impacting individuals in our district, as well as the percentage of positive cases for employees by month, and similar information for students will be added soon.

The district has been tracking employee COVID-19 data since March 16, 2020. Student data tracking began on August 12, 2020. The district’s rate of positive cases mirrors the positivity rate for Hamilton County as a whole.

The dashboard webpage has embedded real-time reporting using Google Data Studio. The information will immediately update as it is recorded in the district’s data system by HCS personnel. We are working to integrate similar real-time reporting for student data, and we will embed the real-time reporting student dashboard in the coming days.

The webpage will also report campuses closed for that day due to the COVID-19 response. On Thursday, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) and Loftis Middle were closed for cleaning and contacting tracing due to positive confirmed cases reported in those school communities. Today, Barger Academy and Lookout Valley Middle/High will also be closed for cleaning and contact tracing.

All four facilities will be cleaned and disinfected

as a safety precaution. Barger, CSAS, Loftis, and Lookout Valley will open again on Monday on the regular schedule planned for the week.

The HCS SAFE Pledge will help us to keep our children safe. The “S” in SAFE stands for stay at home when you or your child is sick. It is crucial for the health and safety of others that children and staff do not come to school or for parents or visitors to visit the school if you are sick or have felt a need to take a COVID-19 test for which you have not received results.

Moreover, no one should come to school if you have been in close contact with someone with a confirmed COVID-19 positive test result. Thank you for taking the SAFE Pledge and helping us keep our children and staff healthy.

Over the first two days of school, students and staff have done an excellent job of following CDC guidelines by wearing masks, socially distancing in the school, and washing hands regularly. All of these guidelines are designed to keep our children and staff safe in all situations. We thank parents for stressing the importance of these safety precautions with children.