A week after Alachua County Public Schools resumed classes, 144 students and staff were in quarantine, according to the school district’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Under protocol, those in quarantine reflect COVID-19 positive cases, people who have had significant contact with someone who has COVID-19, and in the case of sports teams, if an athlete or coach tests positive, the entire team must go into quarantine. ACPS’s total enrollment is 26,678 students.
There was an increase in cases following winter break, as the district expected, Jackie Johnson, ACPS spokesperson, said. There were 68 active COVID-19 student cases and 41 active COVID-19 staff cases as of Tuesday morning. These cases represent students and staff who have reported a positive test result to ACPS within the past 10 days.
These cases were not due to campus spread. Most of the spread is happening within households or during recreational activities that occur outside of school, such as parties, ACPS spokesperson Jackie Johnson said.
The cases are fluctuating daily as some students leave to go into quarantine and others return to school after spending time in quarantine, she said. Since the start of the school year, more than 400 ACPS students and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
ACPS continues to follow the advice of the Scientific Medical Advisory Council, which includes UF experts who monitor the district’s cases daily, Johnson said.
In elementary schools, there are 27 student and 16 staff COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday morning.
In middle schools, there are 8 student and 8 staff COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday morning.
In high schools, there are 32 student and 2 staff COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday morning.
In centers, there are 1 student and 4 staff COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday morning.
In departments, there are 11 staff COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday morning.
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Contact Daniella Sevares at dsevares@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @DaniellaSevares.
Daniella Sevares is a third-year student and an education reporter for the Metro team. She’s from Miami, and she loves going to the beach when she’s not writing.