As omicron surge declines in Memphis, schools still hit by unprecedented cases of COVID-19

Active cases of COVID-19 among children are beginning to decline after a week of holding steady, according to data reported to the Shelby County Health Department, but overall case loads are still pressuring operations for area schools.

In 2022, at least nine public schools in the area have closed for remote instruction to all students or certain classrooms of students, according to a review of state waiver requests. Most of the schools are public charter schools, which operate independently under Shelby County Schools, but also include Collierville High.

Attendance data reported to the state gives another glimpse into how a surge of cases from the highly transmissible omicron variant, which has tipped local COVID-19 hospitalizations to a plateau at record levels, has impacted the logistics of schools. Locally, Lakeland and Millington districts saw the highest share of student absences around 8% each over the last month.

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Generally, municipal districts in Shelby County are reporting lower case numbers but reflecting a higher share of students and teachers with COVID-19 than at Shelby County Schools. At 3% of students with COVID-19, Bartlett saw the largest share of students reporting positive tests this week.

Municipal school districts do not require masks, despite county health department orders.

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Across the board, public school districts are reporting higher shares of infected students and staff than during previous periods of the pandemic, data show.

In Memphis, the omicron surge appears to be in decline overall, though active cases are still at twice the levels of the previous delta peak, around 18,500. The health department reported about 5,800 cases among kids on Monday, a decline from peaks of 6,000 or more for the first time since early January.

As active cases among all age groups have declined, cases among kids have become a higher share of the total, and represented about 30% of all active, reported cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County as of Monday.

Pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen in the new year, though severe COVID-19 disease among children is rare.

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital reported a record high of 37 children with COVID-19 hospitalized last week, slightly higher than a peak of 33 during the delta surge in August. By Monday, though, the hospital reported 18 hospitalizations, the first time fewer than 20 children with COVID-19 have been in the hospital all year.

Reported cases among Shelby County's public school districts are below, followed by a list of schools that have closed in 2022.

Shelby County Schools

Between Jan. 13 and Jan. 19, the district reported:

• 664 student cases among about 83,300 students in traditional SCS schools, or about 0.8%

• 385 staff cases

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district has reported a total of 5,710 student cases and 1,908 staff cases among traditional schools since the start of school on Aug. 9.

Among the district's more than 50 charter schools, between Jan. 14 and Jan. 20, the district reported:

• 162 student cases among 19,800 students, or about 0.82%

• 131 staff cases

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district has reported a total of 1,091 student cases and 317 staff cases among charter schools since most started school on Aug. 9.

As of Jan. 16, about 6.3% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data, which calculates attendance across the district's traditional and charter schools. About 0.7% were remote.

SCS requires masks.

Arlington Community Schools

Between Jan. 15 and Jan. 21, the district reported:

• 115 student cases among 4,978 students, about 2.3%

• 7 staff cases

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district has reported a total of 633 student cases and 81 staff cases since the start of school on Aug. 9.

As of Jan. 16, about 3.6% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data.

Arlington does not require masks.

Bartlett City Schools

For the week prior to Jan. 24, the district reported:

• 274 new student cases among 8,500 students, or 3.2%

• Less than 5 new staff cases each across 9 schools among 900 employees

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district reports its case numbers each week to the state, which does not report cumulative case counts over the school year.

As of Jan. 16, about 4.9% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data, and 0.69% were remote.

Bartlett does not require masks.

Collierville Schools

As of Jan. 21, the district reported:

• 133 active student cases among 9,119 students, or 1.5%

• 34 active staff cases among 1,346 employees, or 2.5%

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district has reported a total of 1,233 student cases and 181 staff cases since the start of school on Aug. 9.

As of Jan. 16, about 3.5% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data, and 0.6% were remote.

Collierville requires masks for staff but not for students.

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Germantown Municipal Schools

Between Jan. 15 and Jan. 21 the district reported:

• 123 student cases

• 17 staff cases

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district has reported a total of 731 student cases and 133 staff cases since the start of school on Aug. 9.

As of Jan. 16, about 4.6% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data.

Germantown does not require masks, as of a recent board decision.

'This is not political': Germantown drops mask mandate as student, staff COVID-19 cases among highest this school year

Lakeland School System

For the week prior to Jan. 24, the district reported:

• 63 new student cases among 1,850 students, or 3.4%

• At least 7 new cases among 240 employees, or 2.9%

The district did not report how many students or staff were impacted by quarantine.

The district reports its case numbers each week to the state, which does not report cumulative case counts over the school year.

As of Jan. 16, about 8% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data, and 0.9% were remote.

Lakeland does not require masks.

MASK MANDATE: Germantown schools issue mask mandate for returning students

Millington Municipal Schools

For the week prior to Jan. 24, the district reported:

• 32 new cases among 2,600 students, about 1.2%

• 6 new cases among 399 employees, about 1.5%

The district reports cumulative data to its dashboard, which was not working Monday afternoon. The state dashboard, where the district also reports cases, does not report cumulative case counts.

As of Jan. 16, about 7.9% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data, and 1.5% were remote.

Millington does not require masks.

Achievement School District

The district generally reports case data to the state dashboard, but did not issue a report recently, as of Jan. 24.

Of the 27 schools in the Achievement School District, 25 are in Memphis and 2 are in Nashville.

As of Dec. 16, about 3% of students were absent on average over the month prior, per state data and 0.2% were remote.

Masking requirements across the district's schools were not immediately clear.

Schools in Memphis and Shelby County that have closed for remote learning in 2022

The below list is information compiled from a review state waivers, and may not be exhaustive of all public schools that have shifted to remote learning. In general, the state approves schools to shift to remote learning for up to seven calendar days, and requests the school cancel its extracurricular activities for that time.

Most of the schools didn't have enough teachers of substitutes to operate, they wrote to the state, due to teachers and staff out with COVID-19.

Shelby County Schools charter schools that have closed:

• Power Center Academy Elementary, Hickory Hill

• Power Center Academy Middle, Hickory Hill

• Power Center Academy High School

• Perea Elementary School (third grade)

• The Soulsville Charter School

• Beacon College Preparatory

• Memphis Delta Preparatory Charter School

• Freedom Preparatory High School (ninth grade)

Other area schools that have closed:

• Collierville High School

Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: COVID-19 cases in Memphis schools: Shelby County, Arlington Community