Keota schools say report of COVID case just rumor

The Keota schools have no positive COVID-19 cases, despite a tracker website stating they do.

Superintendent Jim Henrich said he has contacted county public health and confirmed there are no positive cases.

'If we were to have a positive case the school must be notified by medical personnel as well as county health officials,” Henrich said in a letter. 'We then would follow our contact tracing protocols and the steps we have laid out in our mitigation plan.”

The website, titled IowaCovid19Tracker, allows people to report positive cases without medical confirmation, Henrich said.

Henrich said WHO-TV in Des Moines ran a story about the website and county health has reached out to both the television station and the operator of the website about the situation.

'I am sorry for the panic this may have caused for some of you,” Henrich said. 'I want to assure you we take this pandemic seriously and are doing all we can to create a safe environment for your children.”