Coronavirus

Mass. Schools Report 1,879 COVID-19 Cases Among Students in Last Week, 339 Among Staff

The numbers were higher than the previous week

A total of 2,218 students and staff members at Massachusetts schools tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 1,879 students and 339 employees tested positive between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3. The weekly report covers a timeframe of Thursday to Wednesday.

In last week's report, 1,502 students and 243 employees tested positive for a total of 1,745.

The student cases represent 0.20% of the estimated 920,000 students enrolled in K-12 schools. DESE said 0.24% of the roughly 140,000 staff members tested positive in the last week.

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases reported by the DESE takes into account school districts (including charter schools), collaboratives, and approved special education schools. The data only represents what has been reported to the state.

The state had stopped publicly reporting the school data in mid-June as school was winding down and cases were dropping. The June 16 report included only 53 new cases in students and 5 among school staff.

After a 2019-2020 school year marked by periods of remote instruction, districts across Massachusetts are now back to full-time in-person learning.

As of this week, students age 5 and up can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Massachusetts' school mask mandate has been extended until Jan. 15, 2022, with Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley saying schools can apply to lift their mandates if 80% of students and staff are vaccinated.

Hopkinton High School, which has surpassed the 80% threshold, received state approval to lift its mask mandate.

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