Data: Conn. school COVID cases up after April break

Following a warning from state officials, COVID-19 cases increased in Connecticut schools through the past week as students and teachers returned from April break, figures released Thursday show.

In the past week, 1,653 cases were reported among students, up from 1,110 the previous week, state data shows. There were 627 cases among teachers and staff in the past week, up from 382 cases the week before.

Most districts across Connecticut had April break either last week or the week prior. So the data released Thursday offers the first glimpse of cases since all Connecticut students and staff have returned to the classrooms.

Despite the increase, the number of cases among students and teachers remains far lower than figures reported in January during the surge of infections spurred by the omicron variant.

Ahead of students returning to the classroom, the state’s public health and education departments warned school administrators that cases could rise amid a broad increase in COVID-19 infections statewide.

“Over the past several weeks, COVID-19 transmission rates have been steadily increasing throughout Connecticut and surrounding states. Given these increases, which may be driven in part by recent holidays, school breaks, and associated travel, schools should plan for an increase in COVID-19 cases in their school communities over the next several weeks,” the message to school leaders read.

Despite maintaining authority to issue a broad school-based mask mandate, state officials remain committed to leaving decisions to local leaders. To date, no districts have instituted mask mandates, despite the rise in cases.

The message to school leaders instead focused on reminding districts about proper mitigation strategies that include encouraging frequent testing, hosting vaccination clinics and keeping sick teachers and staff out of school.

While no mention was made of reviving mask mandates, the message to school leaders did remind them to support those who choose to still wear a mask. It included a sample letter that districts could send to parents that contained a message urging people to wear masks if they are not feeling well.

COVID infections overall remain high across Connecticut. The state reported a seven-day positivity rate of 8.92 percent on Thursday. In the past seven days, the state said 5,531 new COVID-19 cases were found among 62,002 new cases.

Hospitalizations increased by a net of 57 patients in the past seven days for a total of 233, the highest figure in several weeks. There were 14 new COVID-19 deaths reported in the past seven days for a total of 10,840.

While infections continue to rise, more communities are seeing increased spread of COVID-19. In the past week, 23 more municipalities have been added to the state’s red zone alert list, bringing the total to 131. For a community to be in the red zone, it has to have more than 15 infections per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.

Driving the increase in cases is omicron’s BA.2 subvariant, which now accounts for roughly 70 percent of all COVID-19 cases in New England, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.