Two Spokane-area school districts break daily records for COVID-19 cases

Jan. 19 (Reuters) – Two of Spokane County’s largest school districts reported record-breaking COVID-19 numbers on Tuesday.

The Mead School District dashboard showed 787 positive tests over the past 10 days. Of these, 85 are teachers, 47 of them at high school level.

The previous record at Mead, which has an enrollment of about 10,800, was 643 cases as of Friday.

Central Valley also set a record on Tuesday, reporting 838 cases over the past 10 days. This broke the old record of 740, which was also set on Friday.

The district’s three high schools accounted for 333 of the cases. Central Valley’s dashboard doesn’t break down cases by staff and students.

The county’s fourth-largest ward, Cheney, reported a slight drop in positive tests — from 186 on Friday to 177 on Tuesday.

However, neighboring Medical Lake was slightly higher, from 75 cases on Friday to 81 on Tuesday.

The Coeur d’Alene schools are also on the up. Last week, the district reported 278 new cases. So far this week it has 146, including 473 students and 92 staff, who have left buildings because of a positive test or quarantine.

The area’s largest district, Spokane Public Schools, was closed Tuesday.

COVID-19 metrics in Spokane County’s largest school district hit record numbers Friday, with 539 people with confirmed cases and 1,158 in quarantine.

Meanwhile, the Reardan-Edwall school district, which straddles the Spokane County-Lincoln County line, will be laid off this week due to COVID-related staffing shortages.

However, the district said athletics will continue while testing supplies and coaches are available.

Coeur d’Alene, Freeman and Medical Lake have warned families they could also switch to distance learning if staff shortages worsen.