Trending COVID-19 cases could cause Pierce County schools to stay in remote learning
The upward trend of COVID-19 case counts could put Pierce County schools back into the “high activity level” category sometime next week, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in an update to school districts on Thursday.
In the “high” activity level category, schools are recommended for remote learning, with in-person learning in small groups for highest need students.
The health agency said it was concerned that in 13 out of the past 14 days, the county’s 14-day case rate has increased.
“If this same pattern continues, we expect the rate to go above 75 per 100,000, with the 6-day data lag, sometime next week,” the health department stated. “If we surpass that threshold, Pierce County will move back into the “High” category of the COVID-19 Activity Level per the Department of Health’s Decision Tree for the Provision of In Person Learning.”
Currently, Pierce County is in the “moderate” activity level category with a 14-day case count of 59.3 per 100,000 population (including a 6-day lag for accuracy). In the “moderate” category, schools can start returning elementary students to in-person learning.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in September that districts could start returning kids to school for in-person learning but cautioned it would help guide schools back to remote learning if the coronavirus case rates increased.
“We heard you ask repeatedly for 2 to 3 weeks of advance notice to allow schools to plan for this outcome,” the health department said in an update on Thursday. “The current trend of COVID-19 cases is an early indicator that we will ask schools to return to remote learning. We encourage you to begin your planning now for how this transition will occur for your school(s) and in the interim, pause bringing back additional students for in-person learning.”
The health department will alert school districts if they should stop in-person learning but said that school districts and private schools will make the final decision.
