NORWALK, Iowa — Guidance from the Iowa Department of Education said school districts and local health departments are responsible for contact tracing if there's a positive COVID-19 case at a school.
Local 5 spoke to a school in Warren County to learn more about their plans for contact tracing.
In just a few short weeks, Norwalk students will be back in class.
"We are planning on again as of today, being back in person, five days a week. We have students who have signed up for required remote learning, and we're making plans to make sure we meet their needs," Norwalk Community School District superintendent Dt. Magee said.
13 percent of the districts 3,200 students are opting for 100 percent remote learning. The rest will be attending school in person.
"We want students to be safe, our staff to be safe and we also want to follow the expectations that come down from the state of Iowa and the CDC. So we're trying to get to and how can we do both of those things when they're not in conflict?" Magee said.
So what happens if there's a case of COVID?
According to state guidance, it's up to districts and local health departments to do the contact tracing.
"We're working with Warren County health services and our nurses as our primary contact points. We have some nurses who serve grades six through 12 who, right now, because of some COVID-19 related issues with our summer activities, have already been implementing our contact tracing plan," Magee said.
Warren County Public Health Director Jodene Devault said they haven't gotten much guidance from the state on how to perform contact tracing at schools.
In an email, Devault told Local 5, "we have four nurses in our health department who are trained to do contact tracing, however all four of us have many more duties on our plate as well. We will work with IDPH and our school districts to determine a more concrete plan for contact tracing of school age students and school employees as we receive additional guidance from IDPH and the department of education. I anticipate our local health department will complete the contact tracing with assistance from some school district staff."
Norwalk students have to wear face coverings whenever social distancing isn't possible.
Staff, visitors and volunteers have to wear them at all times.