(Photo file by John Moore / Getty Images)
According to the State Department of Health, schools in Washington State are seeing low levels of COVID-19 transmission so far.
A new report includes data on 84 outbreaks from August 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 in elementary schools across the state. The report covers both public and private schools and all learning modalities. An outbreak is defined as two or more positive COVID-19 cases among students and staff with onset of symptoms within 14 days of each other.
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In the nearly five month period studied, 13 counties reported outbreaks related to schools. In total, the 84 outbreaks included 305 COVID-19 cases. Half of those cases were among students aged 18 or younger. The DOH says 64% of outbreaks involved two or three cases.
“There is encouraging news here,” said Laura Newman, PhD, MHS, COVID-19 Outbreak Response Senior Epidemiologist in a press release. “We are seeing quite low levels of COVID-19 transmission within school environments so far. The majority of COVID-19 outbreaks in schools involve three or fewer cases, and school administrators, teachers, and staff would do well to implement preventive measures that limit the spread of COVID-19. “
“Our goal is to help schools protect the health of their staff and students, the families they go home to and the wider community. We share this data so that educators, families, local health and communities can see and learn from what is happening in schools regarding COVID-19, ”adds Lacy Fehrenbach, MPH, Deputy Health Minister COVID-19 Response.
Of the 305 cases, 42% were non-Hispanic White, 9% Hispanic, 4% other, and 45% unknown. Sixty-one percent were women. The age groups with the most cases were 5-9 years old and 10-14 years old with 17% each. None of the cases were hospitalized overnight, and there were no reported deaths, according to the state study.
The study covered all forms of learning: personal, hybrid, distance, distance with exceptions and other / unknown. At the time of the outbreak, 12% of schools were teaching in person, 22% were using a hybrid instructional model, 6% were using a distance learning model, 12% were using a distance model with exceptions, and 48% were using a other learning model or data on their method was not available. The DOH says the exceptions are also personalized learning for students with special learning needs.
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In the study, Spokane was the district with the highest incidence of school-related cases, with 151 cases. Snohomish County was made up of 53 of the 305 cases and Clark County was made up of 24. King County had a total of 20 of the 305 cases.
The State Department of Health plans to release another report on outbreaks in schools in late February. That report is expected to include data from August 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.