Over 100 students and staff quarantined in San Diego County 2 days after in-person learning resumed

The harsh environment created by Covid-19 has impacted schools across the country, as teachers and students face the new reality of distance learning models, wearing masks and social distancing, following recommendations from local and national health officials.

After months of learning online, many managers are eager to reopen classrooms, which has sparked debate over whether it is safe to return to in-person learning.

Yet despite these measures, seven people have tested positive at various school sites in Escondido and attended in an infectious state, resulting in the quarantine of 81 students and 15 staff, Escondido said. Union School District on CNN.

Schools affected this week were Farr Avenue Elementary, Pioneer Elementary, Rock Springs Elementary and Mission Middle School, according to the district. Students and affected employees have returned to distance education.

District officials said careful contact tracing confirmed that these positive cases were not passed on in schools, but rather by people who are extended family members of those who walked the various campuses. .

“Our city is struggling with a high case rate and our community includes many multigenerational families. It creates a difficult environment, ”said Superintendent Rankins-Ibarra. “It is unfortunate that people still come to campus waiting for the Covid test results or after having been in close contact with someone who is positive, or when they are feeling sick,” he added.

The director stressed that families should keep their children at home if they are “sick in any way.” He said safety continues to be a top priority and that “very strict health and safety standards” will be tightened at school sites. He also said district officials believe they can support on-campus education in the hybrid model in the future.

“We do everything we can to ensure a safe environment for our students and employees when they are on campus,” Rankins-Ibarra said. “However, we cannot control the off-campus environments,” he said.

Before the outbreaks, health and safety protocols in place included temperature checks and verbal questionnaires to all students about symptoms and exposure before entering classrooms, officials said. school. Classrooms had portable air filtration systems and spaces between desks. There was also a maximum of 12 students in a class at the elementary and intermediate levels. It is unclear how safety standards will be tightened in the wake of the latest positive cases.

While data from San Diego indicates the start of a downward trend in case and hospitalization rates, the county has reported a total of 244,069 positive cases and 2,777 deaths since the start of the pandemic. It remains in the purple level, or the more stringent level of California’s coronavirus reporting system, requiring the closure of many non-essential domestic businesses.

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency marked another grim milestone on Friday, reporting its first pediatric death from Covid-19. The deceased was a 10-year-old boy with underlying health conditions, officials said.