Carlsbad Municipal School COVID-19 cases rise above 400 students and staff

Claudia L Silva, Carlsbad Current-Argus
·2 min read

Carlsbad Municipal Schools' reported on Jan. 24 that 423 students and staff tested positive for COVID-19 from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21, according to an announcement from superintendent Dr. Gerry Washburn.

"This is 6.4 percent of our total enrollment," Washburn said.

CMS reported one of the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in the region. Las Cruces Public Schools reported a positivity rate of 4.9 percent on Jan. 25 and Alamogordo Public Schools reported an average positivity rate of 5.25 percent on Jan. 24.

Hobbs Municipal Schools reported a positivity rate of just 0.4 percent on Jan. 25

Vehicles wait for drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the Bulldog Bowl Parking Lot in Artesia on Jan. 18, 2021;
Vehicles wait for drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the Bulldog Bowl Parking Lot in Artesia on Jan. 18, 2021;

On Jan. 18, CMS reported 344 cases since returning to class on Jan. 3. As of Jan. 19, eight of the district's 11 schools enacted "enhanced COVID safe protocols," which limit indoor sporting events to 20 percent capacity.

"We continue to ask everyone to be careful. Please keep children at home if they are displaying symptoms. We will continue to fight to keep students in classrooms," Washburn said in his announcement.

Washburn said the district's drive-thru testing site will remain open Monday through Friday, but will only offer test-to-stay on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The test-to-stay program allows unvaccinated students and staff to stay in school if they test negative for COVID-19 after they come in close contact with someone with the virus. Those that are fully vaccinated do not need to test in these situations if they remain asymptomatic.

"In the news, there has been a lot of information being put out about home test kits being mailed to families and distributed to counties. At this time those home tests can not be used to satisfy test-to-stay requirements," Washburn said.

Carlsbad High School students get off the bus on Aug. 11, 2021.
Carlsbad High School students get off the bus on Aug. 11, 2021.

On Jan. 12 the New Mexico Public Education Department announced that school staff are required to get a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.

Washburn told the Current-Argus this could create additional strain on the district's already limited testing supplies.

"The new testing requirements for staff without boosters is just going to put another level of demand on a system that hasn't been able to keep up..." Washburn said.

Washburn said over 70 percent of CMS staff had received two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine but the number that had received a booster was much lower.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, 64 percent of adults 18 and over in Eddy County have received at least one dose and 56 percent received two.

The DOH did not have county data on residents who received a COVID-19 booster vaccine but records show 40 percent of adults across the state have received a booster shot as of Jan. 21.

Claudia Silva is a reporter from the UNM Local Reporting Fellowship. She can be reached at csilva2@currentargus.com, by phone at 575-628-5506 or on Twitter @thewatchpup.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad Municipal School COVID-19 cases rise above 400