By Mike Hazlip—
San Juan Unified School District’s superintendent said in a statement Tuesday that rising COVID-19 case rates are straining local schools and could result in school closures, depending on conditions.
“As conditions change, classroom or school closures could be made when necessary and advised by county health officials,” SJUSD Superintendent Kent Kern said in a Jan. 11 statement. “However, we recognize that our schools are vital parts of our community, and we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that they stay open to serve our students and families in a healthy and safe environment.”
As many staff and teachers are out sick, Kern said the district has been continuing efforts “to recruit more guest teachers and have staff from the district office and other central departments stepping in to substitute when possible.”
Student attendance is also down, with daily attendance dropping from 88% on Jan. 4, to 80.8% just six days later on January 10, according to data posted by the district.
In response to the increase in cases, the district said it plans to expand notifications to parents and students when a positive case is reported. Only individuals in close contact have been notified under the previous guidelines.
Kern said the district has also “invested heavily in health and safety measures” that include personal protection equipment (PPE), cleaning, and testing programs. He said the district has also now adopted the latest guidance from the California Department of Public Health regarding isolation and quarantine timelines — meaning “many individuals who are asymptomatic or who have entered a recovery may be able to end their quarantine or isolation periods if they test negative for COVID-19 after a specific period of time.”
More information about the district’s guidelines is posted at www.sanjuan.edu/quarantine.
Data by the Sacramento County Public Health office shows a dramatic increase in the total number of COVID-19 cases this month, rising from a case rate of 17.3 per 100,000 on Dec. 19 to a rate of more than 200 on January 9.
Deaths remain low compared with prior spikes in September and January last year, but officials often note a lag between case spikes and deaths reported. The currently dominant omicron variant is also known to not be as severe as other variants, resulting in less hospitalizations and death.
