Slight uptick in new COVID-19 cases at Henrico Schools

The Henrico County Public Schools division reported 55 new cases in its schools and offices last week — a slight uptick from the previous week’s 44 reported cases.

The largest increase in the number of COVID-19 cases was in elementary schools, where 36 positive cases were reported. There most cases were reported at Pinchbeck Elementary with eight cases. In elementary schools, there were 192 exposures in the week — 39 at Colonial Trail, 31 at Glen Allen and 27 at Highland Springs.

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In HCPS middle schools, nine positive cases and 101 close contacts were reported. The highest number of exposures, 64, was reported at Fairfield Middle School.

There were also nine cases reported in the county’s high schools, along with 59 exposures —  51 of those close contacts occurred at Glen Allen High.

One positive case and four close contacts were reported at the school division’s Central Office.

Since Sept. 1, HCPS has reported 1,094 cases among students and staff — 572 in elementary schools, 227 in middle schools, 275 in high schools and 20 in various annexes. There are about 48,000 in-person students and about 7,000 staff members in HCPS, according to the most recent estimates provided by the school district.

Pediatric vaccinations

The student absenteeism rate over the past two weeks has been twice as high as the 2018-2019 baseline, according to HCPS Chief of Staff Beth Teigen. Research shows that chronic absence — missing 10% or more of school days for any reason — can result in students having difficulty learning to read by the third grade and not graduating from high school.

But the number of young students required to stay home from school and quarantine should soon decrease because children ages 5-11 are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, and those who are fully vaccinated generally do not need to quarantine if exposed to the virus.

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts hosted a pediatric vaccination event at Fairfield Middle School on Saturday and more than 150 children under 11 years old received a dose of the vaccine.

Since pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for 5-11 year-olds became available locally Nov. 4, more than 3,300 Henrico children under 11 have received one dose, according to the Virginia Department of Health vaccine dashboard.

The next special pediatric clinics will take place Nov. 20 at Elko Middle School, 5901 Elko Road, Sandston, and George Wythe High School, 4314 Crutchfield Street, Richmond, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Appointments for these and other clinics can be found at vax.rchd.com or by calling 804-205-3501.

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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.