(New Orleans - October 18, 2021) - NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) continues to be committed to the health and safety of our school community. This week's COVID Tracker provides an update for the week of Oct. 11-15.
As of Friday, October 15, the District is tracking a total of 45 active cases of COVID-19 (4 staff; 41 students) among 27 schools in our school community, resulting in 536 individuals in quarantine.
The increase in quarantined individuals over the data reported for the week of Oct. 2-8 triggered a review of the previous reporting period's quarantine numbers. That review identified a data error in which quarantines for unvaccinated individuals were not accounted for. Therefore, NOLA-PS is correcting the COVID Case Tracker from Monday, Oct. 11 to reflect that 442 individuals were quarantined during that reporting period.
The Oct. 11 report reflects the first two full weeks that all schools were back in session following Hurricane Ida, which accounts for the increase in quarantine cases over the Oct. 2 COVID Case Tracker.
These updated quarantine numbers are not unexpected, given the District's full population of public school students and number of active cases reported across the District.
The number of reported active cases continues to be low in large part to the high participation rate in weekly COVID testing among students and staff.
Robust COVID-19 testing continues on a weekly basis through the NOLAS-PS mobile testing program and our partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). Last week, more than 12,400 students and staff were tested Monday through Friday.
The positivity test rate among those tested continues to be less than 1%.
"We are grateful to our families and staff who continue to get tested weekly to help ensure the health and safety of our community of schools," said Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. "Thank you for doing your part to fight this pandemic."
NOLA-PS urges families to continue checking with their schools for the latest testing opportunities available on their campuses.
As we've been doing since the start of the pandemic, NOLA-PS will continue to monitor the data that measure the impact of COVID-19. Our goal is to continue to preserve in-person learning.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, the LDH, and the New Orleans Health Department have analyzed the data, and all agree the best place for children to be is in the classroom. The benefits include developing social and emotional skills, access to healthy meals and activities, and access to mental health support that cannot be offered through virtual learning.
With that in mind, NOLA-PS will continue to publicly share each week the number of confirmed cases and precautionary quarantines that our schools self-report. We will also continue to remain in close contact with the LDH and our health advisers as we navigate the 2021-2022 school year.
NOLA-PS' COVID-19 Case Tracker provides cumulative data of self-reported cases in our public schools since this reporting began on Sept. 21, 2020. Last school year's data is archived and available for viewing on our website.
The NOLA-PS COVID-19 Case Tracker reports the number of active and cumulative positive cases of COVID-19 by school site, the number of quarantined individuals and the number of positive cases of COVID-19 reported over time for the district and by school site.
The case numbers above reflect data the District has received from schools. In some cases, there may be a lag time in reporting due to the timeframe in which families notify their schools regarding test results among students.
The District's COVID Case Tracker reports active cases over an approximately two-week period. For the purposes of our dashboard, an active case is defined as a COVID-19 case that is confirmed and within its isolation period.
All schools are required to report positive cases to the LDH and the District. The District is continuing to stay on top of updates, collaborate with state and local agencies, and work closely with our school leaders, task force, and community stakeholders to ensure a safe 2021-2022 school year.
The data included in our COVID-19 Tracker reflects self-reported cases from our schools and provides the real-time impact of the pandemic in our school community.
Since individuals 12 and older are eligible for the vaccine, our rules for quarantine and isolation have changed for the 2021-2022 school year. To learn more about the process, please refer to NOLA-PS' COVID Guidance for the details.
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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.
For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.