El Paso Public Health updates COVID-19 recommendations for K-12 schools after rise in cases

Cristina Carreon, El Paso Times
·6 min read

The El Paso Department of Public Health issued updates to a local health authority order that provides COVID-19 safety recommendations for area K-12 schools amid rising COVID-19 cases among youth Friday.

The new recommendations focus on masks, COVID-19 vaccinations and holiday events.

The update was made in response to "the continued climb in COVID-19 cases and the importance of the community’s health and wellness, particularly that of students, teachers and school staff," per a city news release.

El Paso is experiencing a surge of cases among the unvaccinated, and the number of cases requiring hospitalization because of COVID-19 complications is increasing, El Paso Public Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza said in the release.

Ocaranza said at a Friday news conference that a large percentage of new COVID-19 cases reported in El Paso are among children 0-18 years old.

"There are several areas that are very concerning that we need to address and the first one is the number of new cases during this past week that has shown a growth of over 80% compared to the previous three weeks, particularly the sharp increase in the pediatric cases, which account for over 30% of all those new cases," Ocaranza said.

"This trend will most likely continue and we expect that it's going to drastically get worse starting in January after the holiday break."

Zooming into the data about local COVID-19 pediatric cases, cases at the high school level in El Paso are highest, with middle and elementary schools following, Ocaranza said.

All local public and private school districts are seeing positive COVID-19 cases now and compared to last winter, there are more pediatric cases this year over 2020, Ocaranza said.

"Given that we have children attending school for in-person instruction, you have congregate settings," he said. "That might not be an ideal situation, especially now in the winter season that the viruses are spreading a lot easier among children. Then we're seeing a larger number of these children — we know also that it's not only the children that are getting infected, it's often their whole household that's getting infected with COVID-19,

"...It is a very high community transmission rate that we're seeing in El Paso now."

These updates are recommendations because public schools are subject to following their local school board's policies and guidance from the Texas Education Agency, and private schools are subject to rules and regulations from their governing boards.

The updated recommendations can be found at EPStrong.org under the "Orders" tab.

More: El Paso County records more than 2,700 COVID-19 cases last week, breakthrough cases rising

El Paso Public Health updates on COVID-19 safety in K-12 schools

Vaccination against COVID-19 is strongly recommended for everyone eligible, or for people to complete their two-dose regime. A booster dose is strongly recommended for those 18 years and older at least six months after first completing Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations, or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Wearing face coverings that are medical grade or higher while indoors is strongly recommended for students, teachers and school employees; covering the nose and mouth. There are exceptions for children under 2 years old, those with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent wearing face coverings, while consuming food or drink, swimming pool, giving a speech for a broadcast or from a podium to an audience, or during exercise or physical activity.

School districts should continue to enhance surveillance testing for COVID-19 and promptly identify symptomatic students or school staff, excluding them from classrooms or offices.

Districts should continue to sanitize and disinfect facilities per district safety plans that are already in place.

Numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and absenteeism should continue to be reported to the Department of Public Health.

School districts can refer to the “Guidance on School Closure for In-Person Instruction” on the EPStrong.org website under "Guidance" for schools for more, "for decision thresholds for closing a classroom, grade level or school, or suspending a sports team," per the updated health authority order.

More: What you need to know to celebrate another holiday season amid an increase in COVID cases in El Paso

Precautions for holiday events

  • Limit audience attendance at holiday festivals

  • Divide and conduct group performances in separate rooms to prevent large crowds of people gathering in the same indoor place.

  • Choose an outdoor location for holiday festivals, when possible.

  • Recommend all audience members wear face masks.

  • Provide advice ahead of any festival, that anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested and avoid attending the event.

Symptoms to look out for if you think you have COVID-19

  • Cough

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • Fever

  • Chills

  • Repeated shaking with chills

  • Muscle pain

  • Headache

  • Sore throat

  • New loss of taste or smell

COVID-19 testing in El Paso

El Pasoans can get a rapid-result test or a nasal swab PCR test.

A list of locations offering rapid COVID-19 tests can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/yca5se8r.

Testing is free and no appointments are required. The following locations can test for COVID-19 and the flu:

  • Drive-thru testing will be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday at the Don Haskins Recreation Center, 7400 High Ridge Drive;

  • Drive-thru and walk-up testing will be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday at the UTEP Testing Site, 3333 N. Mesa St.;

  • Drive-through testing will be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday at Sports Park Testing, 1780 N. Zaragoza Road.

Where to get COVID-19 boosters, third doses from city of El Paso

The city will administer all three booster shots, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients can mix-and-match with a Pfizer or Moderna shot as a booster.

Boosters and third dose vaccinations by appointment only at the following locations:

301 George Perry Blvd.: 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday

El Paso convention center, 1 Civic Center Plaza: noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

City of El Paso COVID-19 Clinics will be open 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the following locations:

  • 220 S. Stanton St., at the corner of First Avenue and Stanton Street

  • 9341 Alameda Ave.

  • 7380 Remcon Circle

  • 9566 Railroad Drive

To make an appointment, visit EPCovidVaccine.com and go to the registration form or call 915-212-6843.

More information about COVID-19 can be found at EPStrong.org.

More: City of El Paso urges community to test for COVID-19 before and after holiday break

Cristina Carreon may be reached at ccarreon@elpasotimes.com and @Cris_carreon90 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Public Health updates COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools