There were 264 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Long Beach Unified School District during the first week of classes, data from the district shows, not including potential delays in reporting.
The number represents less than 1% of the district’s estimated 68,000 K-12 students attending in-person classes this year. Students and staff who are unvaccinated are required to take weekly COVID-19 tests. It is unclear what percentage of LBUSD students are fully vaccinated.
Of all reported cases, over half were from elementary schools, totaling 146. Of other reported cases, 38 were from middle schools, 35 from K-8 schools and 32 from high schools.
Most of the reported cases on LBUSD’s COVID Dashboard are from the district’s first-week testing of unvaccinated individuals, LBUSD spokesperson Chris Eftychiou said.
Addams Elementary School reported the most cases at a single school, totaling 16 total student cases last week. Avalon K-12 School reported 11 total cases, one of which belonged to a visitor. Three schools reported nine cases: Lindbergh Middle School, Colin Powell K-8 and Smith Elementary School.
One COVID-positive employee was reported at each of the following schools: Lindbergh Middle School, Reid Elementary, Wilson High, McBride High, Polytechnic High, Lakewood High, Henry Elementary and the Cubberley Kids Club, including one positive case in the LBUSD nutrition staff, one in the Teacher Resource Center and one Head Start employee.
A total of 66 different schools reported at least one positive case of COVID-19.
When a student at a school tests positive for COVID-19, parents are sent a general notification of the case in “an abundance of caution,” a sample letter to parents from LBUSD states. The letter includes recommendations on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. All students attending in-person classes are required to wear face masks indoors.
Middle and high school students and staff who are fully vaccinated and symptom-free will not be required to quarantine if they’re exposed to a person with a positive case of COVID-19.
If students who are unvaccinated have close contact with someone COVID-positive, they must quarantine for ten days from their last exposure without testing. If they test negative after day five of their last exposure, they can return to school on day seven.
During the 2020-2021 school year, the district reported a total 427 cases, more than two-thirds of which were employees.
