Las Vegas, NV (AP) — Doors opened Monday at schools in and around Las Vegas, where masks were required for the more than 300,000 students and about 18,000 teachers returning to in-person classes at the fifth-largest district in the nation.
Schools that were shuttered through most of last school year began a new semester still shadowed by the coronavirus pandemic but with classrooms open for all grade levels and some online options available.
By midday, Clark County School District enrollment was 307,605 at 366 schools, including two new campuses, spokeswoman Melinda Malone said.
Malone accompanied Superintendent Jesus Jara during several school visits and reported no serious opening-day glitches.
The Clark County School District traditionally begins classes in early August, making it one of the first in the state and among the largest in the nation to start the new school year.
Governor Steve Sisolak issued a directive last week requiring COVID-19 testing at least once a week for public and private school students in Clark and Washoe counties. Employees and volunteers who aren’t fully vaccinated.cited a surge in COVID-19 cases that officials say is driven by the exceptionally contagious delta variant.
The teachers union in Las Vegas announced Friday that members would cooperate, and John Vellardita, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, said the union was encouraging teachers to become vaccinated.
About 41% of district staff members have reported receiving vaccinations, Malone said Monday, adding that officials expect that number to increase in coming days.
Vaccines are not yet available for children under age 12. Statewide, almost 60% of people ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. About 49% are fully vaccinated.
Coronavirus cases continue to rise, particularly in the Las Vegas area. The Southern Nevada Health District reported 2,443 new cases of COVID-19 during the weekend, or more than 81% of the 3,010 new cases that DHHS reported statewide. Thirty-four of the 35 deaths in the state since Friday were in Clark County.
Test positivity, a benchmark measure of community spread of the virus, has risen in Nevada from a low of 3.4% in mid-May to 16.3% on Monday. The World Health Organization goal is 5% or less to relax restrictions.
In Clark County, the rate Monday was 17.1%.