Two classrooms have been closed in response to a growing COVID-19 outbreak in Oakland schools just a week after students returned for in-person learning.
The Oakland Unified School District on Monday reported a total of 58 students and 10 staff were infected with the virus. That number includes 16 cases among students and staff at Oakland High School and five at Montclair Elementary School – each of which has closed a classroom.
The district, home to 50,000 students in over 100 schools, reopened classrooms last Monday. "We knew we would see some cases of COVID-19 across the district, which is exactly what has happened," Spokesperson John Sasaki told KCBS Radio on Monday.
"It certainly seems as this has all happened, the cases we've seen have been brought into the schools," he said. "They've been situations where someone...caught it at home or the neighborhood."
"While it was a beautiful week seeing the joy and smiling eyes of our students back at school after being distanced so long, I have been distracted with worry," Montclair Principal Maite Barloga wrote in a notice to families obtained by the East Bay Times. "We are doing everything we can to keep our entire Montclair community safe and healthy."
Barloga said exposed students would be kept apart from others at recess and lunch in an effort to control the outbreak.
District officials have mandated masks for students and staff both in outdoor and indoor settings. Contact tracing for those impacted "began as soon as we knew there were any cases at all," Sasaki added.
As the delta variant of the coronavirus rages across the country, continued outbreaks remain possible, he admitted. "We are hoping for the best, but certainly preparing for the worst."
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