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The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 400 school-age children in Mecklenburg County tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Updated 10 a.m.
The state reports that just over 400 school-age children in Mecklenburg County tested positive for COVID-19 last week. But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which serves almost three-quarters of that population, reported only 37 student cases that week. That had school board members questioning the effectiveness of contact tracing Tuesday.
Linking COVID-19 cases to CMS is complicated by the fact that middle and high schools have been in remote learning since March. Elementary and K-8 schools returned in the fall, but have been in remote mode since shortly before winter break.
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About 1,000 employees of Union County Public Schools are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 Friday and Saturday, an option that s not yet available to most frontline workers in the state.
The school district started working with the Union County Health Department earlier this month to schedule vaccinations for staff who are 50 and older. That’s almost 2,000 of the district’s 5,000 employees, according to UCPS spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte.
In mid-January, North Carolina changed its priority list to put people 65 and older ahead of younger frontline workers, including teachers and support staff. Stalberte said the district and the health department agreed to stick with the plan that had already been laid out for school staff.
Mecklenburg County s most recent community spread numbers.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is scheduled to reopen all schools for in-person classes next week, for the first time since March. Tuesday night the school board will decide whether it’s safe to move ahead.
Parents and teachers on both sides of the issue are impassioned; more than 30 are signed up to speak at the board meeting. And both sides have troubling data to bolster their views.
In early December the CMS board voted to keep all students learning remotely for the first two weeks of class in January. That was to let officials see what community spread of COVID-19 looked like after winter break.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has books to teach children about social distancing and wearing masks.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had 544 employees and 319 students test positive for COVID-19 first semester, based on the latest report presented Tuesday.
CMS started reporting student and staff cases in early October as part of a metrics report designed to show whether it s safe for students to attend in-person classes. Students began their second semester in all-remote mode Tuesday.
The latest report covered winter break, with cases reported between Dec. 19 and Jan. 3. Chief School Performance Officer Kathy Elling said student cases were based on parents reporting children s illness to their schools.