Pueblo County health officials form School Response Team

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Monday, hundreds of students in Kindergarten through 8th grade will be returning to classrooms all across Pueblo School District 60. This week Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) announced the creation of a team to deter the spread of COVID-19 in schools and protect students and teachers.

The School Response Team for COVID-19 is made up of Pueblo County Health employees, including nurses, epidemiologists, and communications specialists. The primary duty of the response team is to work with school districts to respond immediately and start investigating once a COVID-19 case within a school is confirmed.

According to PDPHE, each school will have its own nurse to serve as a contact point for the school staff and parents.

When a case is confirmed at a school, local health officials will only release age, gender and county of residence to the public. They will not release the name of the school where the case was confirmed.

However, if health officials determine through investigations that there is a greater risk to the community at large. The community will be notified of outbreaks at specific schools.