Decline in COVID-19 Cases Leads SDOC Officials to “Stay The Course” in lieu of TTS

Spokesperson for Oconee County Schools Jennifer Dodd said in a statement that the district is seeing a significant decline in the number of cases of COVID-19 among students and staff across all schools, and as such, she said they plan to stay the course with current guidelines and procedures.

Dodd issued the statement in response to DHEC’s recommendation for schools to use the TTS or Test to Stay Program, which, according to DHEC Director Dr. Brannon Traxler, would allow students in grades K-12 who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to remain in class…

Rather than immediately moving close contacts to quarantine, TTS allows those students to stay in the classroom if they test negative between day 5-7 and are not experiencing symptoms. A second test, given 24 hours after the first test is encouraged if testing is available. To assist in this effort, DHEC is providing tests to schools that implement TTS.