School sees rise in COVID cases

May 18, 2022 — by Jonathan Si
Photo by CDC
Students are advised to take extra precautions to combat increased close contacts.

The school has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, with 21 new positives in the first week of May, making up approximately 40% of the total 46 cases following spring break as of May 9, according to an update email sent by assistant principal Brian Thompson.

Close contact numbers have jumped primarily among participants involved in recent group activities such as the robotics trip to nationals in Houston after spring break, though specifics regarding student cases were not released due to privacy reasons. Because of the increase in cases, the school will no longer issue individual emails for close contacts.

While the mask mandate has been lifted, the administration suggests students and staff to wear masks at all times and continue practicing good hygiene. As of now, the county still has not allowed indoor eating in classrooms.

Students are recommended to take weekly PCR tests. Inspire Diagnostics will be on campus on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays from 8-11:30 p.m. and Fridays from 12:45-4 p.m. until the end of the year. 

According to an email sent by the district, “the numbers [of cases] we are seeing currently are well below the highs we saw during the Omicron period in January and appear to be stable rather than rising. Of course, we want this data to trend in the other direction and we will continue our monitoring of this data, our regular consultation with the Public Health Department, and keep you updated.”

Tags: COVID
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