Joplin R-8 COVID-19 numbers down to 13 isolated students, 86 under quarantine

In a message to district patrons Friday, Joplin R-8 Superintendent Melinda Moss offered the following update on COVID-19 in the district:

Congratulations on completing our first week of the new year.

I am pleased to provide this update of our district's numbers related to COVID-19 quarantines and isolations.

In our last December update, Joplin Schools had 18 student isolations and 171 student quarantines. We also had 43 isolated employees and 40 quarantined employees.

As of today, we have 13 student isolations and 86 student quarantines. Additionally, we have 16 isolated employees and 21 quarantined employees. Our combined staff and student isolations remain below one percent of our district population.

As has been the case in updates past, these are not concentrated on any particular campus.

We continue to stress the importance of not only managing hygiene and social distancing at school, but also while we are away from school. At a time when our county and city active COVID cases are on the rise, Eagle Nation numbers appear to be holding steady to declining.

I continue to applaud everyone's efforts to keep us safe, learning and in school.

Keep up the good work, Eagle Nation!