(File photo by John Moore / Getty Images)
Schools in Washington state are seeing low levels of COVID-19 transmission so far, according to the state Department of Health.
A new report details data on 84 outbreaks from August 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 in K-12 schools in the state. The report includes public and private schools and all forms of learning. An outbreak is defined as two or more positive COVID-19 cases between 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 associated with schools. In total, the 84 outbreaks included 305 COVID-19 cases. Of these cases, half were students aged 18 or under. DOH says 64% of outbreaks involved two or three cases.
“There is encouraging news here,” said Laura Newman, PhD, MHS, Senior Epidemiologist at COVID-19 Outbreak Response, in a press release. “We are seeing very low levels of COVID-19 transmission within schools so far. Most outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools involve three or fewer cases, and school administrators, teachers and staff are doing a good job of implementing preventive measures that limit the spread of COVID-19. “
“Our goal is to help schools protect the health of their employees and students, the families they go home to and the community in general. We are sharing this data so that educators, families, local public health and communities can see and learn from what is happening in schools with regard to COVID-19, ”added Lacy Fehrenbach, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Health, COVID-19 Response.
Of the 305 cases, 42% were non-Hispanic whites, 9% Hispanic, 4% others and 45% unknown. Sixty-one percent were women. The age groups with the most cases were 5 to 9 years old and 10 to 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 included all modes of learning: face-to-face, hybrid, remote, remote with exceptions and other / unknown. At the time of the outbreaks, 12% of schools taught in person, 22% used a hybrid instruction model, 6% used a remote learning model, 12% operated with a remote model with exceptions and 48% were using another learning model or the data on his method was not available. DOH says that exceptions include personal learning for students with special learning needs.
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In the study, the county with the highest number of school-associated cases was Spokane in 151. Snohomish County was responsible for 53 of the 305 cases and Clark County, 24. King County had 20 of the 305 cases in total.
The State Department of Health plans to release another report on outbreaks in schools in late February. This report is expected to include data from August 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.