Bartlesville Schools Confirm First Student COVID-19 Case Before School Year

Before the new school year has even started, Bartlesville Public Schools is dealing with its first student case of COVID-19. 

The district confirms a high school football player tested positive, prompting other students to quarantine. 

Bartlesville Public Schools said it does not know how the student got COVID-19. It said everyone who was in close contact is now in quarantine and football practice is on hold until August 10.  

Fourteen football players at Bartlesville High School will soon wrap up their quarantine, after one of their classmates tested positive for COVID-19.  

"We knew one of these was likely to happen,” Granger Meador said.  

Meador is the Executive Director of Technology and Communications. He said football players were already split up to practice in different groups, or "cohorts," in order to limit the spread if someone tested positive.  

"We were able to limit the impact and not affect, like, over 100 kids,” Meador said.  

Bartlesville Public Schools said the student was last on campus July 16, and developed symptoms two days later on July 18.  

The student was tested, and the district found out the results late Saturday night. Meador said the district started contacting impacted students on Sunday. Their last day of quarantine will be this Thursday.  

"It certainly is letting us go through our procedures, learn from what the experience was like, so we're even more prepared for when the school year begins. Because we know this will happen repeatedly, whatever we do, with any in person activities,” Meador said.  

The district's first positive case for a student comes at a time when parents just made decisions about whether to put their kids back in the classroom. Meador said about 1 out of 5 students across all grade levels opted for virtual learning.  

The district said the student who tested positive is expected to make a full recovery.  

Meador said parents will be alerted about any positive tests that may occur during the school year.