PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NEWS

The Public Education Department on Oct. 22 announced 25 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:

§  Five cases in Bernalillo County. Four of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 16. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 13. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  One case in Curry County. The infected individual is a student who was last on school property Oct. 8. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  Three cases in Doña Ana County. All of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Sept. 15, Oct. 6 and Oct. 20. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  Two cases in Eddy County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 9 and Oct. 15. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  One case in Lea County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on campus Oct. 12. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  One case in Lincoln County. The infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 15. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  Two cases in McKinley County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 16 and Oct. 19. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  One case in Otero County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on campus Oct. 13. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  One case in Quay County. The infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 13. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  One case in Roosevelt County. The infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 20. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  One case in Sandoval County. The infected individual is a student who was last on school property Oct. 16. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  Three cases in San Juan County. Two of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 2 and Oct. 18. The third infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 13. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

§  One case in Torrance County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on campus Oct. 15. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive case.

§  Two cases in Valencia County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 13 and Oct. 15. All staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected school have been notified of the positive cases.

All “close contacts” will be informed of the positive case(s) 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 will 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, 435 total cases have been reported in 238 schools, including 280 staff members and 155 students. 

Since schools began operating in the hybrid mode on Sept. 8, a total of 397 cases have been reported in 216 schools, including 258 staff members and 139 students.

New Mexico’s Public Education Department rapid response team has removed duplicate records in case counts as of Oct. 19, and as a result, the cumulative case count has been reduced. In addition, New Mexico’s Department of Health has advised the PED to cancel certain cases previously reported because of insufficient details.

For additional information about COVID-19 safety in schools, please visit: https://bit.ly/SafeSchoolsNM.