Smith-Cotton Junior High ‘Community Member’ Tests Positive for COVID

Sedalia School DIstrict 200 issued the following statement just after 4:30 p.m. Thursday:

"Sedalia School District 200 has been informed that a member of the Smith-Cotton Junior High School community has tested positive for COVID-19.

That person is in quarantine at home; the three people with whom they
shared a table at lunch also will quarantine for 14 days and will monitor any
symptoms should they occur.

The district has reported these cases to the Pettis County Health Center, as
required by current Missouri law.

With our mandatory mask protocol, students and staff members who
encountered these people through the day are deemed to be at low risk for
exposure; because masks were off as the group ate lunch, that exposure is
considered high risk.

We strongly recommend that all students, their family members and Sedalia
200 employees monitor for CDC-defined symptoms of COVID-19, including:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Congestion or runny nose
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Newly emerged loss of taste or smell
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
If symptoms develop, you are advised to stay home and consult with your
health care provider."

On Thursday afternoon, the Pettis County Health center reported a total of 849 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the county.

120 of those are active. 719 have returned to normal activities.

Three are currently hospitalized and there have been 10 deaths due to COVID-19 in Pettis County.