Know Who To Call When A Child Is COVID Positive

The COVID Delta Variant is impacting kids more this year, so what do parents need to know about notifying schools?

Putnam County Coordinated School Health Supervisor Trey Upchurch said be systematic about making contact. Upchurch said a positive COVID test means contact the student’s school first and keep calls to nurses specifically about your child’s COVID results.

“They’re experiencing a pretty high call volume,” Upchurch said. “A lot of the calls that they’re fielding are related to attendance and academic needs. Which they’re more than happy to do but at the same time, just the volume that they have at times and it’s not necessarily all COVID related.”

He said if parents are concerned about their child’s attendance while quarantined, call the attendance department. He said if parents are concerned about their child’s academics while quarantined than reach out to the child’s teachers.

He said any possible COVID contact outside of school should begin the chain of calls.

“Your first line of communication though is that primary care provider or the Tennessee Department of Health,” Upchurch said. “They’re doing an amazing job at least here in Putnam County just with who I talk to on a daily basis, of just keeping parents informed and up to date and supplying resources.”

Upchurch said he cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your child at home before results from a COVID test come back. He said if there are any COVID concerns at home, stay home.

“If a negative test is found then there’s some stipulations but we would want you to call and speak to the nurse about that as well,” Upchurch said. “If you’re positive, stay home, notify the school and if you have any questions about what that looks like, you can reach out and talk to the nurse and they can provide support.”