Larimer County saw 28 new outbreaks of COVID-19 in the state s latest report, one of the highest weekly totals since the pandemic began. However, the number of cases associated with each outbreak remains relatively small.
Of the 28 new outbreaks, 10 are at schools and child-care centers. The state defines an outbreak as two or more cases at a site within a 14-day span.
There are now 106 active outbreaks in Larimer County with 4,077 people testing positive; 374 outbreaks have been resolved since the pandemic began, according to county and state data reported on Wednesday. Excluding Colorado State University, which has had 2,894 reported positive cases since October, the county lists 1,183 cases associated with outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.
But Poudre School District will not be participating in the program, district spokesperson Madeline Noblett said.
She said the district has monitored conditions over the past few months and feels there is enough access to testing already. That, along with an uncertainty of costs and the results not being shared directly with PSD, is why the district will not participate for now. If we believe it is advantageous to join the program at a future date, we can, Noblett said in an email.
The district previously opted out of BinaxNOW testing for symptomatic staff, citing similar reasons. A testing site for symptomatic staff is currently being operated at Poudre High School using the district’s own rapid tests, not the BinaxNOW tests provided by the state.
Colorado school outbreaks nearly doubled in November as cases surged
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David Zalubowski/AP
COVID outbreaks at Colorado K-12 schools nearly doubled in November, reflecting the challenge of keeping the virus at bay in classrooms when cases are surging in the community.
Colorado also saw an increase in school-based outbreaks that affected 10 or more people, logging 17 such cases in November, including one with 48 positive cases at a Denver religious school that was cited for failure to follow public health rules.
But outbreaks in schools are still much smaller than outbreaks in other settings where adults are in close proximity to each other, including jails, prisons, nursing homes, and food processing facilities. The median size of school outbreaks from three to five people has not changed significantly over the fall.