Student, Staff Member Test Positive

Positive Coronavirus test results have hit South Lincoln Elementary School

You for joining us tonight -- i'm najahe sherman.

Dan shaffer has the night off.

A student and a staff member tested positive for coronavirus and an unknown number of others are in quarantine -- but the doors at south lincoln school will be open on monday morning.

Waay 31's will robinson-smith is live in fayetteville with what the superintendent says would cause a shift in how the school operates, and what he's watching as this case moves forward.

Will?

Superintendent dr. bill heath says the system's coronavirus plan has trigger points for impacts to the whole district.

Anything more individualized is taken on a case-by-case basis.

At the end of its first week of classes today, south lincoln school became the first school in lincoln county to confirm coronavirus cases.

Superintendent dr. bill heath says a middle school student and a staff member are now in quarantine for 14 days.

Others who came into contact with the two have been notified are will quarantine, too.

Heath notes that, according to their coronavirus plan, if the total number of active cases in the county goes above 174, or 0.5 percent of the county's population, they will transition to their hybrid plan of in-person and remote learning.

As of tonight, the tennessee department of health reports the number of active case in lincoln county is 121.

Anything more than 340 active cases and the district will go full virtual.

Lincoln's neighbor to the north, coffee county, had to face just that decision.

After closing coffee county middle school and north coffee elementary school earlier this week, coffee county schools announced on friday that it is moving to its hybrid schedule starting next week and will stay there until the active case rate dips below 0.5 percent for at least two consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, in lincoln county, dr. heath says there isn't a hard and fast rule on closing a single school or a grade level.

He says it will depend on if there's a large outbreak at one school or if there's a staff outbreak that would hinder operations.

Right now, dr. heath says students will be back in class here on monday.

But he said he will monitor the situation over the weekend in case something needs to change.

Reporting live in lincoln county, tennessee, will robinson-smith, waay 31 news.