PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NEWS

39 staff members, 13 students tested positive

The Public Education Department on Oct. 30 announced 52 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:

§  Four cases in Bernalillo County. Three of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 14, 21, and 23. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Sept. 15.

§  Two cases in Chaves County. Both of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 21 and 26.

§  Two cases in Cibola County.  Both of the infected individuals are students who were last on campus Oct. 22.

§  Four cases in Curry County. Two of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 22 and 26. The other two infected individuals are students who were last on campus Oct. 5 and 13.

§  Twelve cases in Doña Ana County. All of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Sept. 14 and 16, and Oct. 14, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 28.

§  Two cases in Eddy County. Both of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 22 and 23. 

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

§  Seven cases in Lea County. Six of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 20, 23, 26, 28 and 29. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 20.

§  Seven cases in Luna County. Six of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 15, 16, 19, 23 and 26. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 26.

§  Three cases in Roosevelt County. One of the infected individuals is a staff member who was last on school property Oct. 26. The other infected individuals are students who were last on school property Oct. 20 and 23.

§  Two cases in Sandoval County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 20 and 21.

§  Two cases in San Juan County. Both of the infected individuals are students who were last on campus Oct. 27.

§  Two cases in Santa Fe County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 28.

§  One case in Valencia County. The infected individual is a staff member who was last on campus Oct. 28.

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, 662 total cases have been reported in 321 schools, including 458 staff members and 204 students. 

Since schools began operating in the hybrid mode on Sept. 8, a total of 601 cases have been reported in 298 schools, including 413 staff members and 188 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.