30 schools, 6 colleges report new outbreaks

Colorado schools have reported 30 new COVID-19 outbreaks since students began to return to in-person classes in January.

The overall number of active outbreaks in Colorado dropped again Wednesday, led by decreases in the number of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities reporting clusters, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Schools, colleges and several types of workplaces, however, showed small week-over-week increases in outbreaks.

An outbreak is defined as two or more cases tied to the same location or event. It isn’t deemed over until four weeks have passed with no new linked cases.

Nearly all of the outbreaks in K-12 schools include 10 or fewer cases. Exceptions are Cherry Creek School District’s Eaglecrest High School, which has 18 cases, and Meeker High School, which has 17.

The 30 schools have had a combined 53 staff members and 95 students test positive. Children and young adults typically experience mild or no symptoms from COVID-19, although their teachers could be at a greater risk of serious illness.

The first month of the spring semester has brought more outbreaks than the same period of the fall semester. That’s not surprising, however, because the virus is spreading much more widely across Colorado than it was in August and early September.

Even those who were most supportive of returning to in-person learning expected some students would need to quarantine over the course of the spring semester, but many argued it’s a necessary trade-off for children’s academic and emotional well-being.

During the fall semester, schools were pushed to go remote when teachers had to quarantine and their districts couldn’t find enough substitutes to hold classes in person. The state health department revised its guidelines in December to require only those who were within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes to quarantine, but it’s not yet clear if the change will be enough to prevent staffing shortages.

Colleges also saw an increase in outbreaks as students returned. Four schools reported new outbreaks since Jan. 20, bringing the total to six since 2021 began.

The new outbreaks are at Colorado Northwestern Community College and Ravencrest Bible School, 32 cases each; the University of Northern Colorado’s football team, seven cases; and Colorado School of Mines’ Spruce Hall dormitory, six cases. Bradford Hall, another dormitory at the School of Mines, has an outbreak with three cases.