Unvaccinated teacher without a mask infected half of her students with Covid-19 | the Chronicle

Nail unvaccinated teacher of a primary school located California, infected half of his students with the coronavirus, as well as some of his relatives, after giving classes while showing symptoms such as “Cough, apparent fever and headache”, according to a report published by the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronyms in English).

From what health authorities have been able to verify, of the 26 students and their families affected, at least 18 of them contracted the Delta variant.

The Department of Public Health Region of Marine, where the outbreak occurred, began an investigation on May 26, three days after the teacher reported that she had tested positive for Covid-19.

The woman, who initially attributed the symptoms to an allergy, was one of two staff at the educational institution who had not been vaccinated.

From their positive result, 22 of the teacher’s 24 students were tested and 12 of them were infected with the virus. Most of the affected children were seated in the first two rows of the classroom. According to health officials, the teacher sometimes read aloud to the boys, who were not wearing masks, despite school requirements to wear them when they were indoors.

Experts concluded that the infection rate in class it was 50%, while in the first two rows he climbed to 80%.

Four students from other classes at the institution also tested positive. They are the brothers of three students of the unvaccinated teacher, “and it is assumed that the exhibition took place in their respective homes”, reported the CDC. In turn, they noticed that the children less than 12 years cannot be inoculated, your safety therefore depends on vaccinating other adults to minimize the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Besides, four parents were infected (only one of them was not vaccinated), as well as six students from another class, who started showing symptoms after one of them organized a “pajama party”.

The investigation revealed that “The infections that occurred in the two classrooms were probably part of the same epidemic”, noted the CDC. “The infection rate of the outbreak highlights the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant and its potential for rapid spread, especially in unvaccinated populations, such as school children too young for vaccination.”, adds the report.

Experts also said the impact of the outbreak on the entire community could be limited thanks to Marin County’s high vaccination rate. However, they explained that the high transmissibility of the Delta strain, even among fully immune people, necessitates the use of masks in schools. “Using a suitable mask, routine testing, ventilation, and staying home during symptoms are important to ensuring safe teaching in schools. “they concluded.