DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NEWS

30 staff members, nine students tested positive

The Public Education Department on Oct. 27 announced 39 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:

§  Seven cases in Bernalillo County. Four of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 9, 20 and 21. The other three infected individuals are students who were last on campus Oct. 13 and 20.

§  One case in Cibola County. The infected individual is a student who was last on school property Oct. 21.

§  One case in Colfax County. The infected individual is a student who was last on school property Oct. 14.

§  Six cases in Curry County. Five of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Sept. 22, Oct.15, 16 and 23. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 13.

§  Six cases in Doña Ana County. Five of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 15, 16, 20, 22 and 23. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 14.

§  Three cases in Lea County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 19, 20, and 23.

§  One case in Lincoln County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on campus Oct. 19.

§  Five cases in Luna County. All of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 12, 15, 16, 19 and 23.

§  Three cases in Roosevelt County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 16, 20 and 22.

§  One case in San Juan County.  The infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 22.

§  Three cases in Sandoval County. One of the infected individuals is a student who was last on school property Oct. 22. The other two infected individual are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 14 and 26.

§  Two cases in Valencia County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 16 and 21.

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, 607 total cases have been reported in 299 schools, including 412 staff members and 195 students. 

Since schools began operating in the hybrid mode on Sept. 8, a total of 539 cases have been reported in 274 schools, including 362 staff members and 177 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.