SLO County elementary school stops in-person classes after COVID cases involving employees
An elementary school in Atascadero temporarily closed to in-person instruction Monday after a number of employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Santa Rosa Academic Academy, part of the Atascadero Unified School District, reported four new employee coronavirus cases on Monday and one during the week of Jan. 18.
In total, the elementary school located off Atascadero Avenue and Santa Rosa Road has reported nine employee cases and one student case since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, according to a COVID-19 database maintained by The Tribune.
There were 195 total students and staff working or taking classes in-person at Santa Rosa Academic Academy, according to the district.
Atascadero district Superintendent Tom Butler told The Tribune via email that the school closed out of an “abundance of caution.”
All education programs at the school have been transitioned to distance learning for the week, Butler wrote. In-person instruction will resume on Monday, Feb. 1, according to Butler.
This week, custodial staff at the school will thoroughly clean and disinfect the campus and all classrooms at the school, Butler wrote.
The district is “committed to the health and wellness of our staff, students and greater community,” Butler wrote to The Tribune.
Santa Rosa Academic Academy has reported the most employee COVID-19 cases in Atascadero Unified School District, according to The Tribune’s database. But San Benito Elementary School in northern Atascadero has reported the highest number of student cases: four total since the school year began.
Atascadero Unified School District has reported a total of 16 employee cases and eight student cases across all of its schools in the North County.
When should schools close due to COVID-19 cases?
According to the California Department of Public Health’s guidance to schools for safely reopening, the Atascadero district technically did not need to close the Santa Rosa Academic Academy campus to in-person classes.
The state suggests schools close to in-person learning if at least three outbreaks occur and more than 5% of the school population is infected during a 14-day period. A school may need to close if an outbreak has occurred in 25% or more of the in-person cohorts attending the school, according to the state public health department.
An outbreak is defined by the state as “at least three probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period” involving people taking in-person classes.
As of Tuesday, only about 2.5% of Santa Rosa Academic Academy’s in-person population tested positive for COVID-19 in a 14-day period — and only five had tested positive in that timeframe.
However, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department ”may also determine school closure is warranted for other reasons, including results from public health investigation or other local epidemiological data,” according to the state public health department.
Additionally, if a school closure is warranted due to the case numbers, the state suggests it be closed for 14 days. Santa Rosa Academic Academy is only closing for one week.
Schools around SLO County report coronavirus cases
Santa Rosa Academic Academy’s closure comes as schools across San Luis Obispo County continue to report more COVID-19 cases every week.
According to The Tribune’s school COVID-19 database — which keeps track of coronavirus cases across all public school districts and charter schools, and most private schools in San Luis Obispo County — 323 total students and employees in the county have tested positive for the virus since the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
That’s up from 281 on Jan. 19, according to The Tribune’s database.
Some school districts have seen far more COVID-19 cases than the Atascadero district.
At Lucia Mar Unified School District, 64 employees and 71 students have tested positive for the virus since the start of the school year.
San Luis Coastal Unified School District has reported 34 employee cases and nine student cases, while Paso Robles Joint Unified School District has reported 42 employee cases and 39 student cases, according to the database.
