This past week, among staff and students, COVID cases have been on the rise again.
“There is an increase in COVID cases, but I don’t have a number for how many are affected at our school,” nurse Audrey Coffman said. “We no longer trace cases.”
The cheer team was one of the first few groups of people to be infected, which affected the first pep rally. The Flames dance team also had to make accommodations to their dances due to missing members.
“We lost bases in stunts, and people lost partners in the dances,” sophomore cheerleader Chesney Kuklies said. “We had to change formations.”
If a student contracts the virus, it is suggested that their guardian reports it to the nurse and the student quarantines for a school week. The nurse will then report it to the Department of State and Health Services.
“I was told to quarantine for five days, and after the fifth day I could go back to school [and] cheer,” cheerleader sophomore Chandler Boultinghouse said.
When students go to school, it spreads the illness much faster because students are close in proximity. COVID spreads mostly through the air in ways such as coughing, sneezing or talking. The symptoms of COVID include headache, congestion, sore throat, cough, loss of taste and smell and sometimes nausea or vomiting.
“About five other cheerleaders caught COVID, and it slowly made its way around the team,” Boultinghouse said. “Some people continued to test negative, but it hit some of my teammates pretty hard.”
Despite the increase in cases, the school has no plans to shut down as long as students maintain or slow the spread of the infection.
“Wash your hands, follow CDC guidelines and doctor’s orders, stay home when you are sick,” Coffman said.
