April COVID-19 cases in schools only trail January’s

April 15, 2022  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Public schools started April break Friday afternoon just as reports of COVID-19 cases hit their highest pace of the school year this week. 

Harwood Unified Union School District reported 49 new cases for the week ending April 15 – more in one week than were logged for the entire months of December, February and March each. 

April cases in just two weeks total 83 making it the second-highest month of the school year so far, only trailing January’s 123 cases when the Omicron variant after New Year’s rapidly spread across the state and the community. 

The school district’s Friday update did not break down the total case number by school. “We continue to monitor cases in each school; case levels are fairly consistent with population size across each school,” explained Brookside Primary School Nurse Allison Conyers, a COVID-19 coordinator for the district in a memo to staff and families on Friday. 

In updating the school COVID-19 dashboard, school officials asked that families remain in touch over the April break next week, using an online form to report positive cases in students. 

Classes resume Monday, April 25. No shifts in COVID-19 measures are planned before then, said Superintendent Brigid Nease on Friday afternoon. “We will not be changing any mitigation protocols prior to returning from break. We will reevaluate as always after students return whether circumstances warrant any changes in COVID-19 protocols,” she said. 

The latest surge in cases and absences comes after schools across Vermont dropped requirements for wearing masks indoors last month. In the Harwood district, masks indoors became optional on March 14.

Initially, weekly cases numbered around a dozen or so until the first week of April when a spike of 34 cases was recorded. Combined with this week’s 49 cases, the district has logged a third of all COVID-19 cases for the school year since the winter break ended on March 2. 

The latest trend tracks statewide cases that have been mounting in recent weeks. Data reported by the state Department of Health paints only a partial picture given that the daily updates present results of PCR testing only. As home tests have become widely available and distributed free at state testing locations, more people are testing at home. Although the state asks the public to report their results, public health officials say they believe self-reported results only represent a fraction of the cases being identified by home tests. 

Those numbers, however, are mirroring the reports of cases identified by PCR tests. Self-reported case data is updated weekly on Tuesdays for the previous week. The most recent report listed 789 cases for April 3-9.  

The daily Health Department case reports this week show just over 1,600 new cases from April 8 to April 15 with a test positivity rate increasing from 8.7% to 10.9% as of Friday. 

Currently 32 Vermonters were hospitalized with COVID-19, six of whom were in intensive care, according to Friday’s report. State officials point to hospitalization statistics as a measure of the severity of the virus’ spread. Despite the increase in cases, the number of people in the hospital is not increasing significantly. 

Friday’s count was just two higher than the previous week. 

The Health Department reported no new deaths this week as the total stands at 623 Vermonters who have died since the pandemic began in March 2020. Throughout the pandemic, public health officials have stressed that the level of virus in school communities is indicative of the broader community. The wider view can be found on maps of the nation tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recent metrics at the CDC for tracking the Community Levels of COVID-19 take into account case reports per capita and hospitalization data. By that measure, Washington County this week is one of nine Vermont counties with a medium level of COVID-19 (yellow on the Community Levels map). 

Recommendations for that level of the virus are to get tested if you have symptoms. Masks are recommended for those with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. 

An additional CDC map that’s updated daily and used by hospitals tracks COVID-19 Community Transmission levels. By that measure, all of Vermont is listed with high transmission (red on the Community Transmission map) with the exception of Orange County where transmission was listed as substantial.  

Washington County is highlighted in this CDC COVID-19 Community Levels map updated April 14, 2022 that accounts for new cases and hospitalization data. Screenshot

Washington County is highlighted in this CDC COVID-19 Community Transmission map updated April 15, 2022 that tracks data for new COVID-19 cases. Screenshot

Testing continues in Waterbury

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 offers PCR tests as well as home antigen and LAMP test kits all for free. Individuals can get up to four antigen test kits for each appointment (there are two tests per kit, for eight tests total), and one LAMP test per appointment.

Ambulance staff ask that individuals still make an appointment in order for the state to continue to track demand for testing services.

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, for an ambulance service training.