Nineteen Minnesota counties may have to close their K-12 schools for the foreseeable future because of rising coronavirus cases.
That’s the number of counties where new cases over a recent two-week period have exceeded 50 per 10,000 residents, according to a weekly health report published Thursday. That number was nine in last week’s report.
The case report is intended as a starting point for school officials deciding whether to offer in-person instruction. In some cases, such as when outbreaks are contained to a prison, schools can operate under a less restrictive model than the county numbers suggest.
Case growth could push Anoka-Hennepin to close its middle and high schools just weeks after they opened. The state’s largest district recently warned families that such a move could come as soon as next week.
In Thursday’s report, Anoka County jumped to 33 new cases per 10,000 residents, which suggests only elementary can safely operate part-time and secondary schools should close for distance learning, according to state guidelines.
But Hennepin County had a new case rate of 25, which suggests all students can go to school part-time. Hennepin County’s new case rate had been under 20 until the Oct. 8 data release.
Osseo Area Schools had been planning to bring elementary students back full-time this week but instead is sticking with a hybrid schedule for all students.
Superintendent Cory McIntyre wrote to families last week that the district does not have the freedom to choose an instruction model that puts more students in school than state guidelines suggest.
“I know some are interpreting state guidance as offering flexibility to local districts, implying that districts can make exceptions to those parameters. This is not an accurate interpretation,” he wrote.
St. Paul Public Schools will announce Friday whether grades preK-2 will return to school part-time on Nov. 16.
At 26 per 10,000 residents, Ramsey County’s new case rate remains well within range to allow such a move, but the St. Paul district has yet to meet two internal readiness targets.
WEEKLY REPORT
According to the state’s weekly report, which covers test samples taken Sept. 27 – Oct. 10:
- Two counties, Cook and Red Lake, had fewer than 10 new cases per 10,000 residents, which means school leaders should consider teaching all students in-person every day while taking precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
- 11 counties had new case rates of 10-20 per 10,000 residents, which suggests elementary students can go to school full-time while middle and high school students can return part-time to allow for social distancing.
- 29 counties had 20-30 new cases per 10,000 residents, suggesting all students can go to school part-time.
- 26 counties had a new case rate over 30, allowing elementary students to attend part-time while secondary students learn from home.
- And 19 had a new case rate over 50, suggesting all K-12 students should be in distance learning.
Thursday’s report moved 35 counties, including Anoka and Washington, to a more restrictive range for in-person instruction. Conditions have improved in just four counties since last week’s report.
Some of the increase in new cases can be attributed to growth in testing, but the positivity rate has risen, too. During the week of Oct. 4 — the most recent for which data is available — 5.1 percent of specimens collected came back positive, marking a six-week high.
SCHOOL OUTBREAKS
So far this school year, 33 public and private schools have reported at least five confirmed coronavirus cases involving students and staff in the building.
New to that list are: Pillager Senior High School, North Branch Area Education Center, Barnesville Secondary, Providence Academy in Plymouth, West Side Elementary in Marshall, Parkers Prairie Secondary, Mountain Iron-Buhl Secondary, Melrose Secondary and Forest Lake Area High School.
State health officials on Thursday also reported the season’s first school-based outbreak of influenza. One school has had either 5 percent of total enrollment or three students from a single classroom absent with flu-like symptoms.
Statewide, two people have been hospitalized with the flu in the last two weeks.