The Ohio Schools COVID-19 Reporting Mechanism -- Director's Orders for September 8 and September 15

A director's order will require Ohio schools to establish a reporting mechanism for parents, schools, and health departments to report COVID-19. 

September 8 – Positive Tests

Beginning on September 8, parents, guardians, and school staff “are encouraged” to notify their school within 24 hours of receiving a positive test or a clinical diagnosis.

Schools then have 24 hours to notify parents or guardians about the case in writing. Governor DeWine said they should provide as much information as possible without releasing protected health information.

Within 24 hours of learning of a student, teacher, staff member or coach with COVID-19, schools must:

• Notify parents whose children shared the same classroom space or participated in an activity with that person,
• Notify the entire school community of a case, through email, the school website or another form of written communication and
• Report the case to the local health department within 24 hours.

(Jarrod Clay. “Ohio schools must report COVID-19 cases starting September 8, Gov. DeWine says.” ABC 6 Columbus. September 03. 2020.)

“We understand there is a balance between privacy and transparency,” the governor said. “Again, we do not intend for protected health information to be released in our effort to provide information to Ohioans so they can make the right decisions for their family.”

September 15 – Health Department Reports

Beginning September 15, local health departments will report the number of newly reported and cumulative cases to the state health department every Tuesday. New data will then be published publicly every Thursday on Ohio’s coronavirus tracking website, the governor said.

That report will list the weekly and cumulative number of cases, broken down by students and staff, by school district or by school if not associated with a school district.

In addition, DeWine said each school district or school will identify a COVID-19 coordinator to facilitate the reporting of case information. Each school and building also will be required to provide the local health department with a copy of its pandemic plan upon request.

Some central Ohio districts, such as Worthington, have begun publicly reporting cases on their websites.

Dewine said …

“Just because a school has positive cases among students and staff does not mean that school did anything wrong. In fact, if there are cases, and they’re reporting them, they’re doing what they should be doing. Schools cannot control what happens out in their local community.”