Students in the White Hall School District were sent home Monday after being exposed to covid-19 on Sunday.
According to White Hall School District Superintendent Doug Dorris, the exposure took place away from the school.
"It was brought to our attention today, and we followed protocol," said Dorris. "Those students were sent home today to self-quarantine."
In a memo released Monday afternoon, Dorris stated the White Hall School District would continue to follow the reporting procedures for positive cases of covid-19.
The response plan calls for the district's point of contact to be in touch with the Arkansas Department of Health and to follow all state and national directives for contact tracing.
"The White Hall School District will notify the families of all the students considered to be probable close contact," said Dorris in the memo. "Probable close contacts will be asked to self-quarantine immediately for 14 days from the last date of contact with the positive cases."
Dorris could not disclose the number of students that were exposed or the school involved, but he said it did not affect an entire classroom nor was school shutting down. The students will not be counted absent during their quarantine and will continue with school assignments on a virtual platform.
Dorris said classroom teachers would be available to respond to emails or offer assistance during their planning time for all students that must quarantine. He also reassured the recipients of the memo that in the event a school does have a positive covid-19 case, he will work closely with the Arkansas Department of Health and the White Hall School District's point of contact to conduct contact tracing.
"The students were informed that they would be doing everything through Google Classroom," said Dorris. "They were instructed if they felt like they needed to, to go get tested."