KALISPELL — The Flathead City-County Health Department (FCCHD) is monitoring close contacts after a positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Kalispell’s Glacier High School earlier this week.
FlCCHD Deputy Public Health Officer Kerry Knuckles says the health department has worked closely with Flathead school districts preparing for confirmed positive cases.
Kalispell Superintendent Micah Hill said the district gathers all seating charts and potential close contacts and forwards that information to the health department immediately.
Knuckles said the health department acts quickly on confirmed school COVID-19 cases, starting investigations on the same day of a confirmed positive case.
She said positive COVID-19 cases at schools can cause disruption due to close proximity and a large number of contacts needing to be quarantined.
“So, if a case comes in at night we’re still working that school case at night, that being said we have large numbers of contacts for each case, so I think that continues to be a concern just that there will be a lot of disruption every time there is a positive case,” said Knuckles.
Hill said the school district will continue to evaluate and make necessary adjustments as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.