Newly reopened schools in Mississippi, Indiana and Georgia have already reported infections just days into the academic year, triggering virus protocols that include swiftly isolating infected students, tracing their contacts and quarantining people they exposed.
As educators prepare to welcome students back to class for the first time in months, schools’ ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands of districts around the country.
Containment efforts were much more complex when an Ebola outbreak in West Africa prompted U.S. intelligence coverage that many suspect contributed to the failure of authorities to limit a stampede to Dallas, Texas, in late 2014 that sent 26 people to hospitals.
"The safety of our students is paramount and we will support that cause to the best of our abilities," Koby Powell, an epidemiologist with the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a statement.
"No school district in Texas has been ruled out in the event of additional identified cases," said Massey Barnes, who oversees the state's health department.
A new bioterrorism report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a first look at the horrific international fallout from the outbreak
JUST WATCHED Study finds protection in schools Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Study finds protection in schools 01:41
JUST WATCHED Fighting Ebola improves female lives Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Fighting Ebola improves female lives 02:22
Photos: The Ebola epidemic Photos: The Ebola epidemic An Ebola survivor participates in a study in Monrovia, Liberia, on June 17, 2015. The country launched a five-year study to unravel the mystery of the long-term health effects that plague survivors of the viral disease. Since the epidemic started more than a year ago in a remote village in Guinea, more than 11,000 people have died, the vast majority in three West African nations, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization . And that number is believed to be low, since there was widespread under-reporting of cases, according to WHO. Hide Caption 1 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic Women in Monrovia celebrate after the World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola-free on May 9, 2015. Other cases have recurred since, however. Two people in Liberia have died of the disease since the end of June, just weeks after the WHO declared the nation free of the disease. Hide Caption 2 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic A man walks past an Ebola awareness painting in Monrovia on March 22, 2015. Hide Caption 3 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division walk across the tarmac at Campbell Army Airfield before reuniting with their families at a homecoming ceremony March 21, 2015 in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 162 soldiers were deployed in Liberia, where they helped fight the spread of Ebola. Hide Caption 4 of 45 Photos:
As educators prepare to welcome students back to class for the first time in months, schools’ ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands of districts around the country.
Containment efforts were much more complex when an Ebola outbreak in West Africa prompted U.S. intelligence coverage that many suspect contributed to the failure of authorities to limit a stampede to Dallas, Texas, in late 2014 that sent 26 people to hospitals.
"The safety of our students is paramount and we will support that cause to the best of our abilities," Koby Powell, an epidemiologist with the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a statement.
"No school district in Texas has been ruled out in the event of additional identified cases," said Massey Barnes, who oversees the state's health department.
A new bioterrorism report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a first look at the horrific international fallout from the outbreak
JUST WATCHED Study finds protection in schools Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Study finds protection in schools 01:41
JUST WATCHED Fighting Ebola improves female lives Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Fighting Ebola improves female lives 02:22
Photos: The Ebola epidemic Photos: The Ebola epidemic An Ebola survivor participates in a study in Monrovia, Liberia, on June 17, 2015. The country launched a five-year study to unravel the mystery of the long-term health effects that plague survivors of the viral disease. Since the epidemic started more than a year ago in a remote village in Guinea, more than 11,000 people have died, the vast majority in three West African nations, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization . And that number is believed to be low, since there was widespread under-reporting of cases, according to WHO. Hide Caption 1 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic Women in Monrovia celebrate after the World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola-free on May 9, 2015. Other cases have recurred since, however. Two people in Liberia have died of the disease since the end of June, just weeks after the WHO declared the nation free of the disease. Hide Caption 2 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic A man walks past an Ebola awareness painting in Monrovia on March 22, 2015. Hide Caption 3 of 45 Photos: The Ebola epidemic Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division walk across the tarmac at Campbell Army Airfield before reuniting with their families at a homecoming ceremony March 21, 2015 in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 162 soldiers were deployed in Liberia, where they helped fight the spread of Ebola. Hide Caption 4 of 45 Photos:
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