Oswego School District reports 25 more COVID-19 cases among students

Downward trend in number of cases among staff and students continuing data shows

Oswego School District 308

Cases of COVID-19 among staff and students in the Oswego School District 308 continue to decline.

According to data provided through the district’s online COVID-19 metrics chart, a total of 25 positive cases of the virus among district students and staff were reported the week of May 3-9. Of the cases, all are reported to have occurred among students.

The district reported a total of 29 COVID-19 cases for the week of April 26 - May 2. Of those cases, 26 were students and three were staff members.

Cases are tracked by the district through a metrics chart updated each Wednesday on the district’s website. Positive cases are reported to the district either through parents, guardians or self-reports.

The district’s metrics chart also tracks students and staff under symptomatic quarantine, where a student or staff member is or was experiencing one or more symptoms of COVID-19. The number decreased during the week of May 3 - May 9, to a total of 123 cases, comprised of 122 students and one staff members.

Numbers for the previous week showed a total of 167 cases of symptomatic quarantine, including 156 students and 11 staff members.

Symptomatic quarantine cases are self-reported, parent-reported or determined while at school.

The number of COVID-19-positive cases determined to involved close contact while at school increased from the previous week’s total of three to seven cases. The district defines this as the number of COVID-19-positive individuals who were in close contact with individuals at school where they were 6 feet apart or closer for 15 minutes or longer.

The district tracks healthy quarantine cases through self-reporting, parent reporting, and the district’s contact tracing efforts. Those in healthy quarantine do not exhibit symptoms, but experienced asymptomatic exposure.

For the week of May 3 - May 9, the total of healthy quarantine cases came to 224, 222 students and two staff members.

Director of Communications and Public Relations Theresa Komitas previously explained that the COVID-19 case data is not broken down by school.

The school district has an enrollment of more than 17,000 students and operates 13 elementary schools, five junior high schools, two high schools, one alternative school, one therapeutic day school and one early childhood center.

“A few of our schools are small, and a single case may be easily identifiable, and we are protecting the health privacy of our students and staff,” Komitas said.

“Students and staff may not be working in a school building at all right now; with remote learning options, we could be tracking and reporting a case of someone not even in the building, which, if reported individually, may be misrepresenting the actual building data,” she said. “We do want to keep track of these cases and exposures since they could be involved in district activities, sports, etc.”

The mitigation web page also features information about the steps the district is taking to protect students and staff from COVID-19, including an explanation of PPE and staff availability.