D.C. is offering parents a look at the data used to track COVID-19 cases in kids who are attending school through an online dashboard.
“The dashboard will become more interactive in the next week or two, but here we just highlight the total number of cases we have seen,” said D.C. Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, pointing to an image of the dashboard at a press conference Monday.
The city data show 796 juvenile cases of COVID-19 from August 2020 through February 2021.
“Thirty-five percent of which have occurred in DCPS, 35% in private schools, and then approximately 30% occurring in our public charter school system,” Nesbitt said.
The majority, 74%, have been symptomatic, which she said emphasizes the need to track asymptomatic cases in schools, which could be far higher. The health department is encouraging schools to begin testing 10% of their students weekly, with parental consent, for asymptomatic COVID-19.
Of the nearly 800 cases of COVID-19 linked to schools, there have been 26 outbreaks where two or more cases are epidemiologically linked, according to D.C. Health data.
“So while a particular sector may have fewer outbreaks, they may have more students, teachers or other staff who are impacted with each outbreak,” Nesbitt said.
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
