Seattle Public Schools has reported just over 1,100 cases since the start of the school year — a number that is expected to leap with the return to classrooms next week
With the Omicron wave of increased COVID cases still cresting across Seattle, the city’s public school system is asking families to be careful and get children tested before school returns Monday following the two-week winter break.
UPDATE 12/30/2021 4:20 PM: To give people more time to arrange for testing, SPS announced the start of in-person classes will be delayed until Tuesday. The district says it is offering “voluntary, universal testing for all SPS staff and students” on Monday. You can find more information on the announcement and testing resources here.
Original report: With supplies of at home kits low and long lines and cancellations common at testing centers in a Seattle covered in snow and ice, many families won’t be able to meet the district’s expectations.
“We are still tracking public health in Seattle and monitoring the surge in COVID-19 cases. The number of COVID-19 cases at schools more than doubled in the week before winter break, reflecting rapid spread of the Omicron variant throughout the region,” reads the message from Seattle Public Schools this week calling for students to avoid large gatherings and directing families “have your student tested for COVID-19 before returning to school on Jan. 3”
Concerns are also high about teacher and staff health. Heading into the holiday, several public schools across the region were forced to cancel classes on the final day before the break due to staffing shortages.
“SPS is working hard to make sure students and staff can return to school safely,” the district said.
UPDATE 3:50 PM: The district has announced it is offering free rapid antigen COVID testing for students with Premier Medical Group and is providing information to families. The testing is for students in the Southeast and Central areas of the district, SPS says.
While COVID cases tracked across the district have not shown major outbreaks at area schools, Monday’s planned return to in-person classes marks the biggest changes in gathering and social interaction in Seattle communities since the virulent Omicron variant has set in here. Workers in many industries have continued to work from home.
CHS reported here on the need for stronger masking and increased testing as cases have soared around the region, in Seattle, and on Capitol Hill.
Experts, meanwhile, are suggesting including throat samples during at-home testing following findings that the kits may be less sensitive to the variants.
Any reason not to? From a friendly neighborhood virologist: "combined throat/nasal swabs are seeming to be better at detecting early infectious omicron. Standard practice in the UK." https://t.co/7kDZhLAw7E
— jseattle (@jseattle) December 28, 2021
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