Child Covid-19 Cases Rise in States Where Schools Opened Earliest
The number of infections climbed in states where school has been in session for weeks; thousands of students see closures and quarantines
The recent spread of the highly contagious Delta variant has thrown back-to-school plans into disarray, temporarily driving tens of thousands of students back to virtual learning or pausing instruction altogether.
Since the school year kicked off in late July, at least 1,000 schools across 31 states have closed because of Covid-19. The shutdowns are hitting classrooms especially hard in the Deep South, where most schools were among the first to open, a possible warning of what’s to come as the rest of the nation’s students start school this month.
Rising infections have led at least two-dozen districts in Texas to temporarily close some or all schools, according to Burbio. The number of positive student cases reported on campuses statewide totaled 27,353 for the week ended Aug. 29, up 51% from the previous week, according to the state department of health services.
Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina and Utah have banned or curtailed school mask requirements. Five other states—Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Arkansas and Arizona—had prohibited school-masking requirements as well but they have since been overturned by the courts or aren’t being enforced.
Many school systems are reluctant to release contingency plans and are instead forging ahead with solutions that, when possible, keep classrooms open amid outbreaks, mass quarantines and acute staff shortages. School administrators are responding to the sporadic and unpredictable outbreaks with measures like new masking mandates, frequent testing and vaccine mandates for employees. Some say they hope a vaccine for children under 12 happens soon.
