Midlands school district superintendent tests positive for coronavirus
Baron Davis, the superintendent for the Richland 2 school district, has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, even though he said he has taken precautions in his daily life.
Davis announced his diagnosis in an email sent to district families and employees on Tuesday, saying he developed mild symptoms over the weekend and was tested Sunday. He receiving his results Tuesday.
“Prior to my diagnosis, I was taking every precaution possible, including wearing a mask, maintaining at least six feet from others and working remotely as much as possible,” Davis wrote. “As a result, no district employees are considered to have been in ‘close contact’ with me.”
Davis said he will self-isolate for 10 days from the date of his test and wait until he is 72 hours removed from any symptoms.
Davis has headed the district since 2017 and served as assistant superintendent before that. He has been an educator for more than 20 years. With more than 28,500 students, Richland 2 is the largest school district in the Midlands and the fifth largest in the state.
SC sees surge in cases
South Carolina reported a record number of coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with more than 1,700 new positive tests, for a total of 36,297 cases. The Palmetto State has seen a surge in virus activity over the past several weeks, with record case counts, hospitalizations and percentage of tests coming back positive.
Richland County has reported 3,464 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, the third highest total in the state behind Greenville and Charleston counties. On a per capita basis, the county ranks 16th in cases.
Health experts have urged residents to practice social distancing and wear face coverings to slow the spread of the virus, especially as the July 4 holiday weekend approaches.
As the pandemic continues to spread across the state and the country, how school districts will handle a return to classrooms in the fall remains a major issue. Davis previously suggested during a Facebook Live Q&A with The State that Richland 2 was exploring several models, including making high school classes remote to give more room for K-8 classrooms to be socially distanced.
Davis also said the district might use a hybrid model that involves students going into schools several days each week and using remote learning on the others. AccelerateED, a task force established by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, has also issued a report detailing recommendations for how the 2020-21 school year should proceed.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 6:52 PM.
