PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NEWS
The Public Education Department on Thursday, Sept. 24 announced six new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Rapid response has been initiated, and all pertinent information has been verified with the schools and school districts. The following new cases have been reported:
· Two cases at two public schools in Eddy County. Both infected individuals are staff members. The infected individuals were last on campus on Sept. 14 and Sept. 18. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.
· One case at a public school in Chaves County that is in the remote learning mode. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on school property on Sept. 18. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.
· One case at a public school in Doña Ana County that is in the remote learning mode. The infected individual is a staff member. The staff member was last on district property on Sept. 17. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.
· One case at a public school in Lincoln County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on school property on Sept. 18. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.
· One case at a public school in Sandoval County. The infected individual is a student who was last on school property on Sept. 18. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.
All “close contacts” will be informed of the positive case and instructed to quarantine for 14 days. Affected classrooms and facilities will be cleaned and disinfected. Staff must be tested if symptomatic or a “close contact;” however, staff members shall not be required to present a negative test result in order to return to work. Symptomatic staff may return to work after 10 days plus 24 hours after the fever is gone and COVID-19 symptoms have improved. Asymptomatic staff who have been “close contacts” may return to work after a 14-day quarantine.
The PED has collected this data since Aug. 17; since then, the cumulative total number of cases in school populations has totaled 147.
For additional information about COVID-19 safety in schools, please visit: https://bit.ly/SafeSchoolsNM.