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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn City Schools reports 154 COVID cases

<p>Auburn High School is one of the 12 schools included in the Auburn City School District.&nbsp;</p>

Auburn High School is one of the 12 schools included in the Auburn City School District. 

A spike in COVID-19 cases at Auburn City Schools has opened the possibility of the district reinstating its mask requirement.

ACS reported 154 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students, faculty and staff to the Alabama Department of Public Health last week, the school district announced Sunday. Notice of possible exposure was sent to 92 students.

If 52 or more students or employees report a positive COVID test next week, the school district will require individuals to wear face coverings indoors starting Tuesday, Jan. 18. Masks are currently optional in ACS facilities.

The 154 cases reported from Jan. 3-7 are the most for a single week during the 2021-22 academic year. While some reported cases came from students or employees who contracted COVID over winter break, they are only counted if their isolation period of five days, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and ADPH, prohibited them from attending class between Jan. 3-7.

The start of spring classes coincides with increasing levels of community transmission of the Omicron variant, with the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate reaching a pandemic high last week and rising hospitalizations at East Alabama Medical Center and EAMC-Lanier.

Community infections and hospitalizations were also increasing when fall classes began. During the first week of classes, Aug. 10-13, ACS reported only 12 positive COVID-19 cases. The weekly number of cases rose sharply, peaking at 93 positive cases from Aug. 23-27. 

ACS removed its mask requirement on Nov. 1. The Auburn City Board of Education decided that if more than .5% of the district’s student, faculty and staff population of 10,400 — which comes out to 52 people — reported a positive test for two consecutive weeks, it would reinstate its indoor mask requirement.


Evan Mealins | Editor-in-chief


Evan Mealins, senior in philosophy and economics, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.

@EvanMealins

ecm0060@auburn.edu


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