SDPC goes virtual after COVID cases spike

PICKENS COUNTY — Pickens County schools are going temporarily virtual starting next week following an emergency called meeting by the Board of Trustees earlier this afternoon.

According to district officials, although only in their ninth day of school, SDPC has already had 142 students and 26 staff members test positive for COVID-19. Six hundred thirty four students have been quarantined after probable COVID exposure, they said.

More concerning, of the 21 teachers who tested positive, 11 of them were fully vaccinated, according to the school board.

SDPC spokesperson Darian Byrd said four staff members and one student have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. Two of the staff members were on ventilators, he said.

The district said the most cases of COVID-19 they saw at one time was in January when 85 students had tested positive following the winter break.

The district said students will spend Monday and Tuesday preparing for online learning but they won’t be returning to the classroom next week.

School leaders said the first day of e-learning is expected to start on Wednesday.

The district said they plan to release more information to parents and students about learning for the week of Aug. 23 on Thursday, Aug. 19.

“The number one goal of the school district of Pickens County, and our board members, is safety,” reads a released statement by the school board. “Based on the data we have been collecting, and also the testimonies that we have heard after this presentation pertaining to COVID-19 delta variant, and us having an emergency session on August, Friday 13th, the board agrees that face to face education for our students is preferred and it will remain our goal. After reviewing this data, of the first nine days of school, this COVID-19 delta variant is very different from last year. It has exponentially spread throughout all SDPC populations. Today’s current number of positive cases has already exceeded last year’s highest point. In order to minimize continued risk, we have empowered our superintendent to move to a temporary virtual learning format. The safety of our SDPC family is paramount. Our goal is to develop a plan to safely return to face-to-face. Detailed communication from the district office will follow.”