Masks off: COVID-19 cases in schools multiply
April 9, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti This story was updated to include new COVID-19 data from the Harwood school district.
Although Vermont data to track the spread of the COVID-19 virus has become more difficult to come by in recent weeks, several measures of new positive cases show that community spread is increasing once again.
Friday’s weekly update of new cases in the Harwood Unified Union School District recorded 34 new cases in local public schools in the past week. That’s nearly triple the weekly counts of 12 cases for each of the past two weeks. It also suggests April will likely exceed the virus spread in schools in February and March when the total number of cases for those months were 44 and 43 cases respectively.
January saw the most cases in one month so far this school year when 123 cases were reported by individuals who were contagious while in school, according to district data.
However, the weekly case reports only cover those cases where individuals were contagious while in school. A report prepared by Superintendent Brigid Nease for the school board’s upcoming meeting on Wednesday gives a wider view of the extent of the virus affecting students from Feb. 7 through April 8.
Data explaining student daily absences by week show 78 student absences due to reporting a positive COVID-19 case last week, April 4-8. That’s up from 39 absences the prior week. The lowest number of absences for this time stretch was the week of March 7 when only 22 student absences are recorded due to a positive test. Last week’s 78 surpassed the 72 logged Feb. 7-11. It is not clear how many individual students these statistics include because one student could account for up to 5 absences in a week.
Brookside Primary School Nurse Allison Conyers, a COVID-19 coordinator for the district, issued a memo to school staff and families Friday afternoon.
“You will note that the case count is higher this week as compared to previous weeks,” she wrote. “We have been in contact with the Vermont Department of Health and have not identified any school related outbreaks at this time.”
The sharp increase comes four weeks into the latest and least restrictive version of COVID-19 protocols for the schools whereby mask-wearing indoors became optional starting on March 14. While some students and staff continue to wear masks, many are not.
“At this time, individuals can continue to make personal choices about masking in the school setting. We will continue to monitor case counts in our schools and communicate updates as they arise,” Conyers said.
School officials did not provide any school-specific breakdowns of case counts. Following February break, the district ended daily messaging noting new cases and which schools they are reported in. The district now is reporting just once a week on the total number of new cases across all seven of its school campuses. That information is on the HUUSD.org website under the heading COVID-19 Health Guidance.
The superintendent’s report prepared for the April 13 school board meeting includes nine pages of data including vaccination statistics and attendance trends by school between February 7 and April 8. Charts break down attendance by grade and by school. They also show reasons for absences. Some of the key points:
The majority of district students age 5 and older eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are immunized. The portion ranges from 77.6% at Moretown Elementary to 90.77% at Fayston Elementary. Brookside Primary reports 79.76%; Crossett Brook Middle School 90.72% and Harwood 88.3%.
Overall, absences for students and staff have multiplied over the past two months. Student absences have increased by 48% since Feb. 7 and staff absences are up nearly 29%, according to the report’s data.
Students with COVID symptoms made up 18% of the absences the week of Feb. 7 with that proportion more than doubling in recent weeks. Last week, students with symptoms were 42% of those who were not in school.
School officials stress that students and staff stay home if they are sick and noted that more colds and flu have appeared in recent weeks. Anyone with symptoms should also get tested for COVID-19. Home testing kits are available from school and free tests are also available at the Waterbury Ambulance Service station in Waterbury Center. (details below)
Conyers’ memo also recommends that people wear masks when indoors with those with COVID-19 and around those who are at high-risk for serious illness. “Consider masking in indoor spaces, especially if someone you live/spend time with is immunocompromised or is more likely to get very sick with COVID-19,” she said. “If your child is recovering from an illness, consider masking until symptoms have completely resolved.”
More specific guidance is on the school website in the COVID-19 section.
Statewide cases continue to grow
Washington County COVID-19 community level is marked as "medium" by the CDC as of Friday, April 8. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Statewide COVID-19 data has become less comprehensive over the past three months as home testing has become more widespread. Individuals are asked to report to the state cases detected at home, but it’s impossible to know the extent to which the public is reporting those results.
Self-reported test results are tracked separately and updated just once weekly. Those numbers have been trending upward as well with the past three weekly reports being 516 cases the week of March 28, 422 cases the week of March 21, and 247 cases the week of March 14, according to the Health Department website in the COVID in Communities section.
The Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard is updated on weekdays with the cases reflecting the results from PCR tests reported through state testing sites and health care settings that are processed through laboratories.
From April 1 through April 7, the state has recorded just under 1,200 new cases with the test positivity rate climbing from 6.2% to 8.7%. As of Friday, 30 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, five of those in intensive care; that compares to 17 in the hospital with none in ICU on April 1, according to state data.
So far this month three new deaths have been reported for a total of 620 for the pandemic.
Another indicator state officials are watching is the level of COVID-19 virus in wastewater in some public systems being monitored in Vermont. Burlington wastewater has been monitored for much of the pandemic. On Friday, VTDigger reported on a recent spike in virus concentration in samples from the city’s main treatment plant.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking maps, Washington County is one of four Vermont counties where COVID-19 levels in the community is considered to be “medium” currently. (Chittenden, Addison and Orleans are the others.)
Recommendations for areas at the medium level are to be up-to-date on vaccinations and to get tested if you have symptoms. “Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19,” the guidelines say.
The state of Vermont is closing vaccination clinics with vaccine distribution shifting to pharmacies and health care providers. More information on vaccines including the latest recommendations for booster shots is online at the Health Department website.
Free tests available
Many state-sponsored testing sites now have PCR tests which are sent to a lab along with home antigen and LAMP test kits to distribute to the public for free.
The Waterbury Ambulance Service station at 1727 Guptil Road continues to be a testing site and staff there can help individuals decide which test is best for their circumstances.
The site is open Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday 1-7 p.m.; Thursday 1-5 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Waterbury testing site will be closed on Saturday, April 30.