9/27 - Prospective Student Information Night. Please join us at 6pm if you are interested in being a student at BMC!

Thank you for your support!

COVID Information

DHEC Issues Updated Schools and Childcare Centers Guidance for Managing COVID-19 as an Endemic

COLUMBIA, S.C.— As the impact of COVID-19 continues to decline, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today provided guidance to schools and childcare centers to help transition from Test to Stay and quarantine to learning, working, and living with COVID-19 with minimal disruptions.

“DHEC recognizes that our state’s two-year response to this virus has had a significant impact on our families, children, and educators,” said DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer. “Our updated guidance recognizes that COVID-19 is an illness that we now need to treat and manage as endemic, and will help our schools, childcare centers, and ultimately all of us make that transition. At the same time, it also allows us to respond quickly should another surge or impactful new variant arise.”

After historic highs in case counts at the top of the year, numbers have been on a steady decline in recent weeks. For example, the week of Jan. 22 we saw 104,707 cases, followed by 64,298 cases the week of Jan. 29, 34,963 cases the week of Feb. 5 and 19,788 cases the week of Feb. 12.

The guidance is similar, but not identical, to our pre-COVID-19 guidance for influenza. As part of our transition planning efforts, our overarching School and Childcare Exclusion List now reflects this guidance update. Below are guidance highlights:

The guidance applies to individual schools, not entire school districts and childcare centers.

Schools and childcare centers may suspend Test to Stay or quarantine once they have had two consecutive weeks with less than 10 percent of all students and staff having COVID-19.

*When Test to Stay or quarantine has stopped, contact tracing and testing and masking of close contacts without symptoms is no longer required

The first two-week period ends Feb. 28, 2022

*Based on week-one data (week of Feb. 21) and if the trend of low cases continues, DHEC anticipates that most schools and childcare centers will have the option to suspend Test to Stay or quarantine on March 1, 2022.

Schools will continue to report the number of cases to DHEC on a weekly basis.

*If a school or childcare center that has suspended Test to Stay or quarantine and has two consecutive weeks with 10 percent or more of all students and staff having COVID-19, either Test to Stay or Quarantine will need to be reinstated.

Isolation requirements for those who have COVID-19 will remain unchanged.

(Previous COVID information)

January 2022 -The Board of Directors approved new guidelines for students returning to school:

DHEC Guidance for Schools (updated 2/22/22)

Return to School Guidelines

General Return to School Plan (amended)

DHEC Attestation Form for at-home testing

COVID-19 Case Information at BMC

Please note the following regarding these statistics:

1. The reporting does not mean that students, faculty or staff contracted the virus at school.

2. The cases only account for those who attend school in person.

3. This data is self-announced by the school before they are reflected in DHEC's reports.