More than one in ten schools in Minnesota have had an outbreak of COVID since the start of the school year.
That's according to the latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. 16% percent of all of the state's pre-K-12 schools have reported a COVID outbreak, meaning five or more cases in students and staff.
Health Commissioner Jan Malcom says even though severe illness is rarer in children, precautions should still be taken.
“This represents a new and troubling high marks for the entire pandemic and highlights the important point that COVID isn't just a concern for older adults with underlying medical conditions. This disease can and does impact young and healthy people, including children. It's true, and we're grateful for the fact, that children are generally less likely to have severe illness, but there are sometimes tragic exceptions to that rule.”
While Malcolm is not yet pushing for Governor Walz to declare an emergency, she does say lawmakers do need to take action.
“This is not in any way saying this is not urgent,” Malcolm says. “I can’t forecast what the legislature will or won’t do, but I think our focus right now is trying to work with them and get them the information they need to see why these recommendations are being made.”
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The MDH is recommending stricter masking and vaccination policies, which currently are up to individual districts.
They're currently 996 schools with cases and 158 of those schools have five or more cases according to Malcolm.