Covid-19 Cluster Confirmed at Apple Valley Middle School

The Henderson County Department of Public Health has notified Henderson County Public Schools that as of Monday, September 6, five staff and students at Apple Valley Middle have lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 that are epidemiologically linked, meeting the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) definition of a “cluster.”

School officials are working in close coordination with the Henderson County Department of Public Health to determine any students or staff who are considered to be close contacts.

If you or your child has been identified as a close contact of an individual who tested positive, the Apple Valley Middle school nurse or other contact tracers with the Henderson County Department of Public Health will communicate with you directly. Due to privacy requirements, the county can not and will not disclose any personally identifiable health information.

Operations at Apple Valley Middle will continue as usual, and HCPS will keep its school families informed of further updates.

Those who have tested positive will follow health officials’ guidance to self-isolate at home per the current CDC guidelines. Quarantined students and staff will receive information from their school administrators about how they will access instruction, if they are well enough to do so while at home.

HCPS will continue to adhere to any guidance and recommendations from local health officials to keep our staff and students safe.

If you have questions about the current quarantine protocols local health officials are following, please view the state’s NCDHHS StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit at www.covid19.ncdhhs.gov/guidance#schools.

If you have questions about school system communications or community health protocols within the schools, please contact the Office of Administrative Services at 828-697-4733.

Prepared by Henderson County Public Schools.