Carlsbad Municipal Schools saw a slight increase in COVID-19 cases following fall festivities according to the Rapid Response Dashboard.
Carlsbad Municipal Schools (CMS) reported 66 new cases since Oct. 8. Twenty-eight of those cases were reported last week. Of those 28 cases, 18 were at Carlsbad High School.
Ten of Carlsbad Municipal School District’s 11 schools reported at least one positive case in the last 14 days of the report.
More:Eddy County COVID-19 vaccine tracker: 39% of people fully vaccinated
As of Nov. 4, there were 417 positive COVID-19 cases at Carlsbad public schools since school started on Aug. 10.
The increase came after a state-wide drop in COVID-19 cases. The decrease in cases was the result of protocols that included surveillance testing, vaccinations, mask use and quarantine requirements, according to the New Mexico Public Education Department.
The PED recently relaxed its quarantine requirements which allow unvaccinated students that come in close contact with someone with COVID-19 to return to school if they test negative for the virus. Previously, those students had to quarantine for at least 10 days.
The data was released on the CMS COVID-19 Rapid Response Dashboard published on the district’s website. The data is based on cases during a 14-day period.
More:Eddy County children 5 to 11 receive COVID-19 vaccine
The number of COVID-19 infections in Eddy County also slightly increased before dropping, according to data from the New Mexico Department of Health.
On Nov. 5 the county had a seven-day average of 16 cases, on Oct. 27 it was 22 cases and on Oct. 20 it was 15.
According to data from the DOH, 901 children in Eddy County tested positive for COVID-19 since school started. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases among children in the County went from 1,457 on Aug. 11 to 2,358 on Nov. 8.
Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the PED.
As of Oct. 19, 51.9% of adults in Eddy County are fully vaccinated and 59.3% have gotten at least one shot, according to the DOH COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard.
On Oct. 29 the FDA announced it had approved a lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children between five and 11-years-old.
COVID-19 case count in the last 14 days
- Carlsbad High School: 3 rapid responses, 18 cases
- Alta Vista Carlsbad Intermediate School: 0 rapid responses, 1 case
- PR Leyva Carlsbad Intermedia School: 0 rapid responses, 3 cases
- Cottonwood Elementary School: 0 rapid responses, 3 cases
- Desert Willow Elementary School: 2 rapid responses, 3 case
- Early Childhood Education Center: 2 rapid responses, 2 case
- Carlsbad Early College High School: 0 responses, 2 cases
- Hillcrest Preschool: 0 rapid responses, 0 cases
- Monterrey Elementary School: 0 rapid responses, 3 cases
- Ocotillo Elementary School: 0 rapid responses, 2 cases
- Sunset Elementary School: 0 rapid responses, 3 cases
Loving Municipal Schools reported at least two COVID-19 rapid responses in the last 14 days, Jefferson Montessori Academy reported three rapid responses and Artesia Public schools reported two according to the New Mexico Environment Department website.
A rapid response is initiated after at least one or more people from the school test positive for COVID-19 within a 24-hour timeframe. The school is required schools identify and test anyone they came in contact with.
Claudia Silva is a reporter from the UNM Local Reporting Fellowship. She can be reached at [email protected], by phone at 575-628-5506 or on Twitter @thewatchpup.
