Tulare County health officials help St. Paul's School battle COVID-19 outbreak, require masks
As schools all over the country prepare for graduation ceremonies, some are still grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks.
St. Paul’s School reported an outbreak to the Tulare Health and Human Services Agency, which has stepped in to provide guidance.
While Head of School Seth Yocum refused to comment, teachers on campus reported dozens of students missing from each class and a handful of teachers fighting the infection. Masks are now required at the school, something one teacher said shouldn't have been dropped in the first place.
“Tulare County Public Health is assisting school officials at St. Paul’s School in providing infection prevention guidance and information to manage their current outbreak of COVID-19 cases,” said Carrie Monteiro, Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency’s public information officer.
"School officials are implementing COVID protocols necessary to manage the outbreak and prevent further spread of the virus within school facilities.”
It is not known how many St. Paul students have tested positive for the virus, or how many are isolating at home after being considered close contacts. One parent said she's keeping her children home until the fall.
An outbreak is defined by the California Department of Health as three or more cases sharing a common link or location. Teachers, who asked not to be named in fear of retaliation for their jobs, said the number of cases at one point was "so high, we lost count."
One teacher posted on Facebook that "last week was the lowest we've ever been with only 7-10 kids (in classes) all week."
St. Paul's teachers aren't represented by a union.
"Tulare County Public Health provides support when we are notified by school officials, or when we are notified by a concerned constituent, or when we notice an increase in cases at a common location through contact tracing," Monteiro said.
The school’s ‘Repopulating Plan,’ created after the pandemic began, states “St. Paul's School will follow to our best abilities, the information presented from California Department of Public Health.”
The last day of school is Friday and summer school is planned to start in June. St. Paul's is a private religious school in Northwest Visalia. There are about 300 students enrolled at the school.
Cases are starting to rise throughout all of Tulare County, according to the latest update provided by the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency. Tulare County reported 8.8 cases per day, per 100 thousand people and a 5.2% positivity rate.
There are over 730 active cases, according to the update. One month ago, Tulare County reported around 100 active cases. Eight people died this week of COVID-19 in Tulare County.
Lauren Jennings covers education and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: St. Paul's School requires masking during COVID-19 outbreak
