COVID-19 case reported at Fresno County school three weeks after students return to class
Almost three weeks after reopening for in-person classes, someone at a Sanger Unified School District elementary school tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a notice sent out on Thursday by district officials.
“As required by the Fresno County Department of Public Health, we are notifying you than an individual who was present on our campus within the last 24-hours who was reported testing positive for COVID-10,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Bee.
The letter did not specify whether it was a student or a staff member who tested positive at John Wash Elementary School. It also didn’t say if the school or a classroom has to close or how many people, if any, need to quarantine.
Sanger Unified officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Those who were considered a “close contact,” meaning someone was within six feet of a person with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period, were notified by district officials, the letter said.
“Health information about students and staff is confidential information,” the notice continued, ”therefore staff at the site will not have any additional details that can be shared beyond this letter.”
Sanger Unified, the fourth largest district in Fresno County with nearly 700 educators and 12,600 students, is joining one of the many school districts across the country that have recently reopened and then, after a short time, saw a positive coronavirus case at a school. With the recent uptick in positive infections, many districts are opting to wait to reopen, the Washington Post reported.
The Fresno Unified School District, the largest district in the county, is one of the districts waiting to reopen until positive COVID-19 cases decrease. District officials announced Thursday morning they would continue distance learning until the county reaches the orange Tier 3 in the state’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” of coronavirus safety measures and restrictions.
The orange tier represents “moderate” risk levels for spreading COVID-19. To get to the orange tier, positive coronavirus cases would need to dip between 1 and 3.9 daily cases per 100,000.
On Monday, Fresno County slid back to the purple Tier 1 — the most restrictive tier for reopening businesses — after being in the red Tier 2 for almost two months. Still, under state and county guidelines, school districts that opened for in-person classes were allowed to remain open.
Sanger Unified opened its doors to students for part-time in-person learning on Nov. 2 amid backlash, division, and disagreements between teachers, parents, and district officials. Groups of parents and teachers were pitted against one another — one group pleading for the district to reopen for in-person classes and the other wanting distance learning to continue because they don’t feel it’s safe to return.
The district phased in students slowly. Transitional kindergartners, kindergartners, and first graders were the first students to return. Second and third graders will return the week of Nov. 9. Fourth, fifth, and sixth-graders returned this week, and all other grades are set to return on Jan. 11.
Students are split into two groups. Each group of students is on campus four days a week, either in the morning or afternoon between two and a half hours and two hours and 45 minutes depending on the grade. The rest of the day, students work independently from home, and Mondays are all online.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 8:25 PM.