Cobb County schools to end contact tracing for COVID-19 exposures – WSB-TV Channel 2

COBB COUNTY, Georgia – Just hours after Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Health announced guidelines that there would be more testing available for schools and that contact tracing would be optional, Cobb County Schools announced that they would follow these guidelines.

This made the district the first in Georgia to move in this direction.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Some parents in Cobb County were not happy to hear the news. Suzanne Wooley, who has a third grade son in the school system, said Channel 2’s Matt Johnson she was stunned at the decision.

“I don’t know if I should cry or just scream right now,” Wooley said. “He could catch it, be asymptomatic and give it to his little sister who has no protection.”

The county, which has maintained a mask-optional policy in school buildings, said the decision will help them reduce pressure on staff.

The school’s superintendent, Chris Ragsdale, addressed the board on Thursday evening and said that no longer having to track who infected pupils come into contact with and notify parents would free up valuable resources.

“Contact tracing has probably been the biggest increase in staffing resources, to get that done and mostly in a timely manner,” Ragsdale said.

The state’s letter also gives school districts the green light to allow exposed staff to return to work immediately if they have no symptoms.

“As long as they wear a mask during this quarantine period, they will be allowed to return to work the next day, which will greatly help us keep all of our classrooms open,” Ragsdale said.

TRENDING STORIES:

Georgian schools are still adjusting to the omicron-fueled wave of infections that many doctors say could still be weeks away from peaking.

“The patterns I’ve seen look like we’re peaking here this January,” said Dr. Danny Branstetter of Wellstar Health System. “And hopefully by the end of this month we’re starting to come down from our peak and looking at a much better situation.”

Branstetter and other doctors say vaccinations, testing and masking will pave the way to help contain the pandemic.

“Prevention is key here,” Branstetter said. “COVID is here to stay, and we must take all the measures we can.”

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

But many parents like Wooley said the changes would make it much harder to know how close the virus might be to infecting his family.

“Parents will have no idea if their child has come into contact with a positive case,” Wooley said. “We no longer have the ability to make informed decisions.”

©2022 Cox Media Group