COVID-19 cases decrease in Stanislaus schools for 2nd week in a row. 200 cases reported
COVID-19 cases in Stanislaus County schools decreased for the second week in a row.
School districts confirmed a little over 200 cases the week beginning Sept. 12, according to the county’s COVID-19 schools dashboard. Most of the cases were reported among high school students, consistent with the previous reporting period.
Since students and staff returned to school buildings full time in early August, the dashboard shows that cases in schools peaked at almost 400 the week of Aug. 29.
The county’s mask mandate took effect Sept. 4. Research shows mask mandates produce visible changes after 14 to 21 days, a public health expert previously told The Modesto Bee.
Schools reported four outbreaks and 11 active clusters the week of Sept. 12, respectively, compared to 16 and 24 the week before. An outbreak is three cases linked to the same exposure, and a cluster is two cases linked to the same exposure.
The Health Services Agency reported almost 200 instances being “monitored for additional cases.”
More than 1,000 students and staff were in quarantine or isolation Wednesday, which is about 600 fewer than the previous week.
Modesto City Schools reported 81 student cases and eight staff cases Sept. 11-17, according to numbers posted Tuesday. This means 0.28% of the district’s student and staff population tested positive, according to the dashboard. This is nearly the same as the previous reporting period.
Cases since the start of the school year have been concentrated among students, the dashboard shows. More than 460 students have tested positive, compared to about 65 staff.
At Turlock Unified School District, 37 students confirmed positive cases last week, compared to three staff cases, according to data posted Friday. About 430 people were quarantined as a result. Each of these numbers is lower than the previous reporting period.
School leaders from smaller districts told The Bee they are not able to maintain a public COVID-19 data display because of limited staffing resources.
Several districts have created data displays since the school year began. Here are other K-12 school districts in Stanislaus County that The Bee knows to have COVID-19 dashboards:
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
