Henrico Schools' COVID-19 cases peak as county declares state of emergency

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}(); The Henrico County Public Schools division reported 673 new COVID-19 cases last week, more than tripling the case count from the last week of school before the holiday.

Positive cases across the county are also soaring; the Henrico County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night declared a state of local emergency to allow greater flexibility to purchase COVID-19 testing kits and other supplies amid a surge of new cases.

The increase of infections has caused staffing problems in HCPS.  About 9% of teachers have been absent since schools reopened Thursday, according to data provided by the division.

Amidst the surge, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its K-12 guidance on Thursday to reduce the recommended time for isolation and quarantine periods from 10 days to five days for unvaccinated people who were exposed to the virus.

The Virginia Department of Health has not yet updated its K-12 guidance to shorten isolation periods. The department is currently synthesizing and reviewing the new CDC guidance, a spokesperson said.

As of Wednesday, HCPS has maintained its more stringent 10-day isolation period for unvaccinated people exposed to COVID-19.

Typically, HCPS leadership prefers to have the VDH’s perspective on K-12 guidance before making changes, but that's not a definitive rule, said HCPS Chief of Staff Beth Teigen. Ultimately, the decision to change isolation rules lies in the hands of local school divisions; several have already shortened isolation periods despite the lack of updated VDH guidance.

The HCPS health committee met Monday morning, and any possible changes will be announced at Thursday’s school board work session, Teigen said.

Positive cases reported during the break Dec. 17 – Jan. 5 were self-reported by families or staff to their schools, so the data only reflects the limited number of people who reported cases to their schools, according to Teigen.

There were 379 close contacts reported last week, reflecting the two days of in-person learning. During the winter break, the Virginia Department of Health took over contact tracing, and that data was not included in HCPS’ dashboard. HCPS resumed contact tracing when school reopened on Thursday.

In mid-December, more than 1,000 close contacts were reported in a single week with five days of school.

Since Sept. 1, HCPS has reported 2, 651 cases – 1,356 in elementary schools, 511 in middle schools, 705 in high schools and 79 in various annexes.

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.