(File photo by John Moore / Getty Images)
Schools in Washington State have so far seen low levels of COVID-19 transmission, according to the state Department of Health.
A new report details data on 84 outbreaks from 1 August 2020 to 31 December 2020 in K-12 schools in the state. The report includes both public and private schools and all ways of learning. An outbreak is defined as two or more positive cases of COVID-19 among students and staff with the onset of symptoms over a 14-day period.
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During the almost five months studied, 13 counties reported outbreaks associated with schools. In total, the 84 outbreaks included 305 COVID-19 cases. Of these cases, half were among students aged 18 or under. The DOH says 64% of outbreaks involved two or three cases.
“There is encouraging news here,” Laura Newman, PhD, MHS, COVID-19 Senior Epidemiologist with Outbreak Response, said in a press release. “We see quite low levels of COVID-19 transmission in the school so far. Most outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools involve three or fewer cases, and school administrators, teachers, and staff do a good job of implementing preventative measures that limit the spread of COVID-19. ”
“Our goal is to help schools protect the health of staff and their students, their families and the wider community. We share this data so that educators, families, local public health and communities can see and learn from what is happening in schools regarding COVID-19, “added Lacy Fehrenbach, MPH, Deputy Secretary of Health, COVID- 19 Answer.
Of the 305 cases, 42% were white non-Hispanics, 9% Hispanics, 4% others, and 45% unknown. Sixty-one percent were among women. The age groups with the most cases were 5-9 years and 10-14 years, with 17% each. None of the cases were hospitalized overnight and no deaths were reported, according to the state study.
The study included all modes of learning: personal, hybrid, distance, distance with exceptions and others / unknowns. At the time of the outbreaks, 12% of schools taught staff, 22% used a hybrid instructional model, 6% used a distance learning model, 12% operated with a distance learning model with exceptions, and 48% were using another learning model. or data on their method were not available. DOH says exceptions include the personal learning of students with special learning needs.
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In the study, the county with the highest number of school-associated cases was Spokane at 151. Snohomish County accounted for 53 of the 305 cases, and Clark County accounted for 24. King County had 20 of the 305 cases in total.
The State Department of Health plans to launch another report on outbreaks in schools at the end of February. That report will include data from 1 August 2020 to 31 January 2021.