BCSC COVID-19 indicators turn sour as school gets off to start
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools have been back in face-to-face classes for three days. And some of the COVID-19 indicators used to determine whether school should stay open are already in the red.
The school system is tracking seven indicators, but only four of those have actual numbers already attached to them. And of those four, two are in the red, showing substantial spread and have been in that state for 2-3 days.
Should the district tip over into substantial spread, schools would switch to eLearning. However, at this point the overall school status is still showing moderate spread, meaning schools can stay open.
One indicator in the red, the “Per Capita Positive Rate” in the community, has increased from Saturday’s 9.6, to a 10.3 on Sunday and a 12 as of Monday. Anything above a 10 is considered a sign of substantial spread. According to the the Indiana State Department of Health, Bartholomew County has the highest 7-day per capita positivity rate of any of the surrounding counties.
Also trending in the red are the number of community hospitalizations for COVID-19. That jumped from 10 last week, to 14 by Friday and then hit 17 on Saturday, 15 on Sunday and 17 again on Monday. Anything over a 14 is considered a sign of substantial spread.
The other two indicators currently available are showing moderate spread, and minimal spread.
School officials announced on social media that they will be working with Columbus Regional Health and the Bartholomew County Health Department to get a sense of the information behind the information. An update on the indicators will be released again on Friday.