PBHS Senior Banquet attendee tests positive for COVID-19

Updated with information from Butler County Health Department.

An attendee at the Poplar Bluff High School Senior Banquet on Thursday has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the district and county health officials.

The R-1 school district notified those in attendance with an email early Friday night after being contacted by the Butler County Health Department, which was investigating a previous positive test for the virus.

The individual who attended the Senior Banquet did not show signs of symptoms and was only tested because they had contact with an infected person, the letter states. A positive test result for the attendee came back positive Friday and they are in self-isolation.

Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, said that the prom, scheduled for Saturday night, and Tuesday’s graduation ceremony were to be held as scheduled.

“We advise everyone to take those precautionary measures,” Dill said. “We don’t require face masks to events, but I think everyone knows that they’re strongly recommended.

“Obviously maintain social distancing to the best of your ability, simple hand washing precautions, all of those things that we’ve heard since the beginning, still apply.”

The Butler County Health Department said in a statement Saturday that it had completed contract tracing and alerted any one who needed to self isolate.

"Per the CDC guildelines most who were in attendance need to wait 72 hours to be tested," the statement read. "Onset of symptoms is thought to be three days to 14 days. If you are sick on contacted, please stay home and self isolate."

The health department is offering free COVID-19 testing to any Missouri resident during regular business hours.

Health officials have reported 22 new positive tests for the virus over the last seven days and 76 in all.

Dill said the case that started the contract tracing was from outside the school and the individual who attended the Senior Banquet was not aware or had symptoms of being infected with the virus.

“That’s the thing that makes this whole situation precarious,” Dill said. “If this individual had any indication whatsoever, they probably wouldn’t have been there.”

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, including older adults or people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The majority of people recover. Missouri has reported 948 deaths as of Friday.

Some people with the virus are asymptomatic and do not show any signs they are infected but they can still spread it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth face covering in public settings.

Face coverings are not required to attend the prom or graduation.

“While we encourage and understand the value, we cannot provide those masks so for us to require them becomes an impossibility for the school district,” Dill said.

Dill said if the postponed end-of-year events were not mandatory he would probably feel differently about holding them. If families or students elect not to attend out of an abudance of caution the district “will respect that and honor them to the best of our ability,” he said.

“As soon as Butler County (Health Department) made us aware of this, we started our communication because we want people to be able to make informed decisions,” Dill said. “If our patrons of the community do not feel safe attending prom, graduation, or maybe even school in the fall, they need to have the information we have to make that informed decision so they can hold themselves and their loved ones accountable and as safe as they see fit.”

Both prom and graduation will be held at the Black River Coliseum and the capacity has been lowered by about 25% to allow for some distancing. The district will broadcast both events on its PBHS Facebook page.

The prom Grand March will start at 7 p.m. Saturday with the coronation of the king and queen to follow.

Graduation will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday and admission will only be allowed to those given a ticket.

Students will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to practice for the ceremony and, unlike previous years, will need to be at the Coliseum at 5:30 p.m. in their chairs.

In the past, students were bused from the high school for the ceremony but to maintain social distancing there would be too many buses and slow the process. Students will also not enter side-by-side, as they have done in the past.

There will be 29 rows filling the Coliseum floor to spread out the senior class.

The last time students attended classes in school on Friday, March 13, there were only two positive tests reported in the entire state. As of Friday, 99 days later, that number surpassed 17,000.

To make an appointment for a free COVID-19 test through the Butler County Health Department, call 573-785-8478 during regular business hours.