Stating it wants to be as transparent to the public as much as possible, the Brownsville Independent School District has established a COVID-19 Dashboard, where the community can track the coronavirus cases on school campuses.
Tracking from Aug. 17 through Wednesday, showed 67 students from pre-k to high school have tested positive for the virus. Of that number, 25 were elementary school students, 13 were middle school students and 29 were high school students.
The tracking also revealed that 40 employees have tested positive for that same time period as well.
In an interview Wednesday on BTX.Cares Talks Jason Moody, public information officer for BISD and Alonso Guerrero, director of Health Services, said the district is doing everything it can to be transparent with the public and to keep both the students and faculty safe.
“Any and all information regarding COVID-19 we try to put on that (Dashboard) website so that is available,” Moody said.
“We want to send a message out that we are doing everything we can to open safely and so our students can be learning in an environment that is safe,” Guerrero said.
All students, faculty, staff and visitors to the schools are required to wear facial masks while on campus and in administrative buildings.
As soon as students enter their classrooms, they undergo temperature checks. Those students that are running a fever are sent to the school nurse who then conducts a rapid antigen test for coronavirus symptoms.
“We identify those individuals who are possibly carrying the virus and isolate them in an isolation room while their parent picks them up,” Guerrero said.
If a student tests positive the student can be kept at home to self isolate for 10 days from the onset of the symptoms, according to BISD protocol. In order to return to in-person instruction, at least one 24-hour period has passed since recovery, the student has an improvement in symptoms and at least 10 days have passed since the symptoms first appeared.
Guerrero said the district already has freezer units set up at the schools so when a vaccine for children under the age of 12 is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, health officials have a place to store the vaccines that will be administered.
“As soon as they roll them out we plan to start vaccinating those kids. Whoever wants it” will get the vaccine, Guerrero said.
