COVID Cases and Outbreaks Increasing at K-12 Schools

As Los Angeles County experiences a high rate of COVID-19 transmission and steady rise in cases, K-12 schools continue to see increases in cases among staff and students and the number of school outbreaks.

The number of cases among students and staff more than quadrupled between March 27 and April 24. This likely reflects the elimination of the indoor masking requirement in mid-March, students and staff returning to campus after gathering and traveling for the Spring holidays and end-of-year events now underway. For the week ending April 24, there were 3,164 positive cases, with 2,544 among students and 620 among staff. For the week prior, ending April 17, there were 1,879 positive cases at K-12 schools, with 1,478 among students and 401 among staff.

School-associated outbreaks increased slightly for the week ending April 30 with 18 outbreaks (10 in elementary schools, four in middle schools, three in high schools, and one in youth sports). One week prior, for the week ending April 23, there were 13 outbreaks (six in elementary schools, one in a middle school, two in high schools, and four in youth sports). Many of the outbreaks outside of classrooms, some of which have involved dozens of students, have been linked to activities such as indoor school events, proms, musical and theater performances and field trips.

With these increases in cases, Public Health’s specialized school support team is offering school partners information, resources, help with outbreak management, and technical assistance to support strategies that enhance safety at schools and at school-sponsored events.

Public Health continues to strongly recommend that all students and staff wear well-fitting masks or respirators when indoors and requires masking indoors for any asymptomatic staff and students who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

With funding from the CDC, Public Health has partnered with the LA County Office of Education and Heluna Health to support COVID-19 testing in public, charter, and private schools across the county. Public Health is supporting school-based COVID-19 testing programs as well as providing testing support on site.

Parents and students are expected to follow the isolation and quarantine Health Officer Orders. Students who are required to isolate shouldn’t return to school until they’ve been released from isolation. Exposed asymptomatic students can remain in school, provided they wear a mask indoors when they are around others, for 10 days after their last exposure, and are tested three to five days after exposure, to make sure they aren’t infected.

Details: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov