Thread by @TNSenateDems

It is impossible to keep #Covid19 out of schools, where the disease endangers students, staff and their families.

We know this because kids are already getting infected. 👇👇

A thread on the challenge of reopening schools and restarting school sports safely in Tennessee:

July 25: Two days after reopening public schools in Alcoa, Tenn., city school officials notified parents they'd identified the first confirmed case of #Covid19 wate.com/health/coronav…

July 28: Oak Ridge Schools notifies families that a staff member has tested positive for #COVID19, a week before schools are set to open.
knoxnews.com/story/news/loc…

July 29: Though in-person classes aren't scheduled to begin until after Labor Day, Metro Nashville Public Schools announced two staff members tested positive after a planning session.
tennesseelookout.com/2020/07/29/two…

July 16: Knoxville Catholic, a private high school, suspended football practice after a player tested positive for COVID-19.
wate.com/sports/high-sc…

July 19: Also in Nashville, a McGavock High School football player, who had been practicing with the team, reportedly tested positive for #COVID19.
wkrn.com/community/heal…

July 25: In Shelby County, three Collierville High School football players tested positive for COVID-19.

fox13memphis.com/news/local/3-c…

July 28: With many schools about to restart in-person classes, @NC5PhilWilliams found that the number of school-age children who had tested positive for #coronavirus jumped 33% in just 10 days — going from 6,827 to 9,085 on July 28.

newschannel5.com/news/newschann…

July 25: School officials in Oak Ridge, Tenn. suspended a high school band camp after an instructor and a student tested positive for COVID-19.
oakridgetoday.com/2020/07/25/ban…

July 29: Two employees at Smith Springs Elementary School in Nashville tested positive for #COVID19, prompting 18 staff members to quarantine.
newschannel5.com/news/two-emplo…

July 31: A teacher at Promise Academy - Hollywood charter school in Memphis reported testing positive for #COVID19 two days after starting mandatory in-person training.
dailymemphian.com/article/15832/…

July 31: Just days after students returned to school, a student in Maryville, Tenn. at Coulter Grove Intermediate School has tested positive for COVID-19. All students who were in close contact with that student were ordered to quarantine.
wbir.com/mobile/article…

July 31: A football coach at South-Doyle high school in Knoxville, Tenn. tested positive for COVID-19 after a family member became ill.

wvlt.tv/2020/07/31/sou…

Aug. 1: School officials in Alcoa, Tenn. confirmed 3 cases of COVID-19 at Alcoa High School and one new case at Alcoa Elementary School.

wbir.com/mobile/article…

Aug. 1: Two staff members and a student tested positive for #COVID19 at elementary schools in Jefferson County. 20 people are in quarantine.

wate.com/video/jefferso…

Aug. 1: DeKalb County Schools announced they will be delaying the start of the school year until Aug. 17 because an employee tested positive for #coronavirus. Staff members in contact with the employee are in quarantine.
wkrn.com/community/heal…

Aug. 1: A Collierville High School employee has tested positive for #COVID19. School officials say the appropriate individuals are self-quarantined for 14-days.
wmcactionnews5.com/2020/08/01/col…

July 30: More than 30 employees of Maury County Public Schools have reported that they either have, think they have or have been exposed to COVID-19 in recent weeks.
In-person classes are set to begin Aug. 10.
columbiadailyherald.com/news/20200730/…

Aug. 2: One person has tested positive for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
wvlt.tv/app/2020/08/03…

Aug. 3: A staff member at John Sevier Elementary School in Maryville, Tenn. tested positive for COVID-19, prompting a class of first graders to transition to online learning for two weeks.

wvlt.tv/app/2020/08/03…

Aug. 4: School officials in Greeneville, Tenn. announced that athletics at Greeneville High School and Greeneville Middle School have been shut down after some athletes tested positive for #COVID19.
greenevillesun.com/covid19/gcs-sh…

Aug. 5: A “member of the football community” at Sullivan North High School in Kingsport, Tenn. has tested positive for #COVID19. A 14-day suspension of football practice began July 29.

wjhl.com/local-coronavi…

Aug. 5: (UPDATE) A total of eight athletes at Greeneville Middle School and Greeneville High School tested positive for #COVID19, four of those were football players. The football team's first game of the season has been canceled.

wjhl.com/sports/high-sc…

Aug. 5: In Manchester, Tenn., Coffee County Schools announced two schools, Coffee County Middle and North Coffee Elementary, would be closed through Aug. 7 due to #COVID19 concerns.
wsmv.com/news/2-coffee-…

Aug. 2: Blount County Schools officials confirmed one person at Carpenters Elementary School in Maryville, Tenn. tested positive for #COVID19.
wbir.com/article/news/e…

Aug. 6: A staff member at George Washington Elementary in Kingsport, Tenn. has tested positive for #COVID19.
wcyb.com/news/local/geo…

Aug. 6: A member of the volleyball community at Sullivan East High School in Bluff City, Tenn. tested positive for #COVID19. Officials say all activities including practices are suspended through August 12.
wcyb.com/sports/high-sc…

Aug. 6: (UPDATE) A total of 9 football players and 4 other athletes at Greeneville High School in Greeneville, Tenn. have tested positive for #COVID19.

wjhl.com/covid-19-keepi…

Aug. 7: A staff member at Chapman's Retreat Elementary in Williamson County has tested positive for COVID-19. In-person classes have been delayed.
wsmv.com/news/chapmans-…

Aug. 7: More than 80 students, seven staff members and a bus driver are in quarantine due to #COVID19 concerns after the first week back at Cookeville High School in Putnam County, Tenn. One confirmed case had been at the school.

newschannel5.com/news/88-putnam…

Aug. 6: A football player at Forrest High School in Chapell Hill, Tenn. has tested positive for #COVID19.

newschannel5.com/news/newschann…

Aug. 8: Bradley County Schools had their first day of in-person classes on Friday and annouced its first positive case of #COVID19 the next day.

School officials did not say whether it was a student or staff member.

wdef.com/2020/08/08/bra…

Aug. 8: A member of the Sullivan South High school football community in Kingsport, Tenn. has tested positive for #COVID19.

The entire team and coaching staff is in quarantine for 14 days.

wcyb.com/sports/friday-…

Aug. 8: A staff member at West Side Elementary in Elizabethton, Tenn. has tested positive for #COVID19.

wjhl.com/local-coronavi…

A student at McKenzie High School in McKenzie, Tenn. has tested positive for coronavirus.

wbbjtv.com/2020/08/06/mck…

Aug. 7: With school in session for less than a week, two people at South Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Tenn. have tested positive for COVID-19.

rocketcitynow.com/mobile/article…

Aug. 9: Whitthorne Middle School and Spring Hill High School in Maury County will be closed on Monday, August 10 for COVID-19 precautions.

The school said closure was due to staffing related to COVID-19.

wsmv.com/news/two-maury…

Aug. 9: The McCallie School, a private school in Chattanooga, suspended the football team’s contact practices after at least 11 players tested positive for COVID-19.

timesfreepress.com/news/sports/pr…