Tuscaloosa County Schools System: April 5, 2021: Latest Data Update On COVID-19 & Our Schools

Press release from the Tuscaloosa County School System:

April 5, 2021

April 5, 2021

From the Office of the Superintendent

To Our TCSS Families, Faculty, Staff, and Community,

As we first shared at the start of the school year, the Tuscaloosa County School System is compiling data regarding COVID-19 and its impact on our schools. Although there are many aspects of student, employee, and health-related information we are unable to share publicly, due to the need to protect the privacy of individuals, there is information we can and want to share with you. This is a way to keep our community informed of the current COVID-19 situation within our schools. If a student or faculty/staff member is identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case within the school, they will be contacted directly by their school.

The information below reflects cases from March 12 – April 2, 2021. This information is compiled by our TCSS Department of Health Services, working in conjunction with administration at local schools. A new report is typically issued every two weeks; however, with Spring Break occurring during this reporting period, this update spans three weeks. Scroll to the bottom of this page for all previous updates.

We are aware of 18 TCSS students or employees who tested positive for COVID-19 during the March 12 through April 2 time period. TCSS has approximately 19,000 students, enrolled across 34 schools, with 2,275 faculty/staff members. Our most recent data showed approximately 85 percent of our students as on-campus learners. Based on this figure, the 18 positive COVID-19 cases represent 0.09 percent of our current on-campus student and employee population.

During this time period, a total of 91 students or employees have had to quarantine, due to possible COVID-19 exposure. This is approximately 0.5 percent of our current on-campus student and employee population. TCSS identified these individuals following Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines. They were not identified because they displayed COVID-19 symptoms, but because they were determined to be close contacts of positive cases within our schools.

Of the 18 positive cases, all schools had four or fewer confirmed positive cases. The majority of schools had zero confirmed positive cases.

Two, three, or four confirmed positive cases: 3 schools

One confirmed positive case: 9 schools

Zero confirmed positive cases: 22 schools

We do not have a total number of faculty/staff who have quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure since the start of school. However, the total numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and individuals who have had to quarantine during this time period include faculty and staff members.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from February 26 - March 12, 2021.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from February 12 - February 26, 2021.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from January 29 - February 12, 2021.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from January 15 - January 29, 2021.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from January 4 - January 15, 2021.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from December 4 - December 18, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from November 19 - December 4, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from November 6 - November 19, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from October 23 – November 6, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from October 9 – October 23, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from September 26 – October 9, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from September 11 – September 25, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from September 1 – September 11, 2020.

Visit this page for our previous update with COVID-19 data from August 20 – September 1, 2020.

This press release was produced by the Tuscaloosa County School System. The views expressed here are the author’s own.