According to Decatur High School nurse Holly Fletcher, it’s not a question of if the new coronavirus comes to Decatur, it is a question of when.

“It is likely that we are going to see the coronavirus here. It is a statistical thing that we’re looking at and we know it’s probably going to come,” Fletcher said.

With the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia, the system has no practical way to control who walks through the doors each day and therefore must find alternative ways to prevent the spread of the disease.

“As nurses, we have all met with the central office staff who are in charge of keeping track of the updates on the virus,” Fletcher said. Nurses are also emailing on a daily basis, and they are communicating with Dr. Lillie Huddelston Executive Director of Equity and Student Support.

The custodial staff has also had to alter their normal routine. “[They] have been wiping things down more than they usually do. They’re paying close attention to light switches, computers, doorknobs, even […] the tables in the cafeteria and in the media center,” Fletcher said.

Students who are more vulnerable to the disease will garner special attention from the CSD nursing staff.

“We are paying close attention; As a nursing staff, we know who in our schools have significant medical backgrounds or something that will make them a little more susceptible to the virus. We will be checking in with those students especially if they are displaying any symptoms that would make us think they were exposed to the coronavirus.”

As of March 11, no cases of COVID-19 have been reported in CSD. All of the implemented procedures that have been mentioned are precautionary.

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