Local school district uses cameras to aid contact-tracing

SALADO, Texas (KWTX) -- School officials are having to learn how to ‘contact-trace’ as they seek to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

Contact tracing “is a process to identify, monitor, and support individuals who may have been exposed to a person with a communicable disease, such as COVID-19," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Bell County, district superintendents, school principals and nurses are responsible for performing contact tracing methods when a student tests positive for COVID-19.

“One of the things that we and our superintendents realized at the start was that the health district does not have enough staff to handle contact tracing for all of the schools alone,” said Dr. Amanda Chadwell, the director for the Bell County Public Health District.

At Salado ISD, superintendent Michael Novotny along with the school principals collaborate to properly trace possible transmissions of COVID-19.

"First we visit with the student and his or her parent to find out which kids or staff members you think you have come in close contact with,” Novotny said.

School officials then turn to the use of cameras to help fine tune their tracing. The school district has 303 cameras in hallways, cafeterias and other common areas across its campuses.

Novotny and other staff then have access to rewind and watch who the student came into close contact with.

Salado ISD defines close contact as being less than 6-feet away from an infected person for15 mins or more without a mask or 30 mins or more with a mask.

Students and staff who are found to have been in close contact with an infected person are then asked to stay home from school.

The school districts ultimately report their findings to the county health district and the state’s health department.

The Bell County Public Health District said contact tracing practices are constantly evolving as organizations like the CDC and the Texas Education Agency revise their recommendations and requirements. The health district conducts weekly phone meetings with school superintendents to keep them informed of changes and help them implement best practices in their schools.

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