On Sunday, the number of coronavirus vaccinations administered in Massachusetts increased by 72,047 to 3,904,179, state officials said.
The number of people fully vaccinated – with two doses of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – has risen to 1,478,520, the Department of Public Health said.
Updates on coronavirus cases, deaths and other metrics were not released on Sunday. This data will be included in Monday’s report, according to the COVID-19 state panel.
On Saturday, the state reported 2,263 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the state total to 605,055. The department also reported 30 new confirmed deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the state total to 16,938.
The coronavirus case count is steadily increasing, as 90 percent of school districts in Massachusetts prepare to send elementary students back to full-time, in-person learning on Monday.
Last week, COVID-19 cases among students and public school officials reached the highest weekly total since the beginning of the school year.
Despite the record report – 801 new cases of coronavirus among students and 244 among school officials in the week ending April 3 – state officials and public health experts said the numbers are not a sign that schools are not safe .
They cited several factors, including an increase in virus cases among young people and the number of children and staff within schools recently reaching the highest levels since the closure of classrooms in March 2020.
CDC officials said the face-to-face school is safe for children, as long as precautions are taken, including keeping one meter of distance between students and wearing a universal mask.
Dr. Davidson Hamer, an infectious disease specialist at Boston University’s Schools of Public Health and Medicine, was aware of the continued disruption of student education, but said the decision to allow children to return to face-to-face classes was “a hard decision . “
“The timing is not ideal due to the recent increase in cases,” he said. “But on the other hand, it was planned a while ago.
If schools make a good effort to sanitize spaces, impose social distance and ensure the use of masks, the risk of transmission can be reduced, Hamer said. Ideally, routine tests should be performed to detect outbreaks, he said.
However, Hamer expressed concern about students’ return to class as cases increase, adding that he suspects that the increase in recent COVID-19 cases is being driven in part by variant B.1.1.7 first identified in the UK .
“I think three weeks ago I would have felt better about it,” he said.
Some districts, including Boston and Worcester, received exemptions from the state to delay the return to face-to-face learning. All primary schools must be in full presence by May 3, according to state education officials.
The return to face-to-face learning was complicated in some communities due to the lack of school bus drivers.
In Lynn, Superintendent Patrick Tutwiler said on Saturday that the district had to temporarily suspend school bus service because its transportation provider does not have enough drivers. The service suspension affects 680 special education students who need transportation, he said.
“I know the importance of transportation and it is heartbreaking that we cannot provide it to some of our most needy students,” said Tutwiler by email. “However, this problem is temporary and we are taking advantage of all resources to act as quickly as possible to resolve it.”
The district’s supplier, NRT Bus Inc., now has 18 drivers in Lynn, compared to more than 40 drivers in a normal year, said Tutwiler.
In a statement, the company said it had provided all the transportation requested by the district since September and has “worked diligently” to re-hire drivers and other employees to serve Lynn and other communities since state education authorities announced plans to resume face-to-face learning from that. month.
“There is no higher priority for NRT than transporting our student passengers to school safely and we will continue to work with the districts to ensure that all children in need of a ride receive one,” the statement said.
Lynn’s public schools are working out a plan to accommodate students who need transportation, but the details have not been finalized, said Tutwiler. Families of students with special needs who need transportation are entitled to a mileage refund, he said.
Jared Nicholson, a member of the Lynn School Committee, said the lack of bus drivers is a capital issue.
“Drivers found another job in districts that were able to return earlier,” he said. “It is another example of the pandemic that leads us to rethink how we value workers who are really essential for the basic services we expect and our families deserve.”
Tom Hamilton, executive director of the Massachusetts School Transportation Association, said there are about 1,200 fewer school bus drivers at work since the pandemic sent students home abruptly in March 2020.
Many school bus drivers found new jobs after their employers stopped receiving payments from some school systems and laid off employees, he said on Saturday.
“Drivers are just like anyone else. They need to put food on the table, ”said Hamilton.
In Springfield, school leaders warned families on Friday that the lack of a bus driver could cause disruptions to transport on Monday.
On Saturday, Springfield superintendent Daniel Warwick said the bus routes had been adjusted and the district was no longer preparing for widespread transportation delays.
“We think we have everything ready for Monday morning,” he said.
A spokesman for First Student Inc., a transportation provider for Springfield Public Schools, said recruiting school bus drivers was a challenge even before the pandemic because low unemployment rates created a lot of competition for workers.
Chris Kemper, the spokesman, said First Student is offering a $ 1,500 signing bonus to new drivers in Springfield as part of its recruiting efforts.
“This is a unique opportunity,” he said. “Some of our parents will tell us that it is the most difficult job you will ever love. They do this for children. “
Global correspondent Abigail Feldman contributed to this report.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @lauracrimaldi.