Notifying Public Health Authority Protocol

Protocol to Notify Public Health Authority:

Positive COVID-19 Identification:

1. Building Principal will contact parents/guardians to inform them the importance of notifying the school immediately of a positive COVID19 identification.
2. Building Principal will contact all Staff to inform them of the importance of notifying the Principal or the Principal Designee with a positive COVID-19 test result.

If District/School is informed first:

1. When a school is made aware of a positive result(s), immediately contact the District Representative.
2. Upon report from a building, District Representative will report within 24 hours to the appropriate County Health Contact.
   • Jackson County:  Communicable Disease Department
     Phone: (541) 774-8209  (During business Hours) (541) 618-4651 (After 5:00 pm message provides contact information for on call person)

• The LPHA will need to conduct an initial review to know what contact and/or cohort logs to request. Once the review has been completed, the LPHA will request a specific set of contact and/or cohort logs from the district/school, and request to have those contact and/or cohort logs as soon as they can be provided, at maximum 24 hours.

If LPHA is informed first:

1. When the LPHA is made aware of a positive result(s), the LPHA will notify the District Representative within 24 hours.
2. Upon report from the LPHA, the District Representative will work with the LPHA to determine next steps.
   1. The LPHA will request a specific set of contact and/or cohort logs from the district/school, and request to have those contact and/or cohort logs as soon as they can be provided, at maximum 24 hours.

If School Identifies an Illness Cluster:

1. School front office staff track absences for the day, and utilize the Influenza Like Illness Tracking spreadsheet/other tracking spreadsheet to mark symptoms/reason for absence. Office staff use the “line list” spreadsheet to do that.
2. Once complete, they notify district nurse/other health staff if the log identified an illness cluster.
3. District nurse/other health staff together with the District Representative makes determination if it should be reported to LPHA.
4. If determination is YES, district nurse/other health staff will call the LPHA number for questions (attach other protocol with contact information or support.  If determined by LPHA, the school/district will fax the completed log to the LPHA (not email due to confidentiality reasons). District Representative is notified.
5. LPHA reviews faxed log and makes determination if “opening an outbreak” (LPHA term for tracking illness outbreaks is necessary.)
   • If yes, LPHA gets an outbreak number and request contact and/or cohort logs from the school and request to have those contact and/or cohort logs as soon as they can be provided, at maximum 24 hours.
   • If no, LPHA continue business as usual no need to send additional logs unless another cluster is identified.  
   • District nurse/other health staff and District Representative is notified by the LPHA of their determination. 

All Public Health Contacts

Jackson County:  

Operational Blueprint Submission, Questions and Support:

Bonnie Simpson, Environmental Health Specialist
Email: SimpsoBL@jacksoncounty.org  Phone: (541) 816-5648 

COVID-19 Case/Concern:

Communicable Disease Department

Phone: (541) 774-8209 (During business hours)

(541) 618-4651 (After 5:00 pm message provides contact information for on call person)