The rise in COVID-19 cases resulting in a large number of staff and students having to be quarantined resulted in the LaSalle Parish School District to stop in-person learning last Friday to help stop the spread.
The rise in COVID-19 cases resulting in a large number of staff and students having to be quarantined resulted in the LaSalle Parish School District to stop in-person learning last Friday to help stop the spread.
According to Secondary Supervisor Tish Taylor, since school resumed following the Christmas/ New Year’s break January 5, unusually high numbers of staff and students across the parish have tested positive for COVID and larger numbers have been near COVID-positive people requiring them to be quarantined.
Taylor reported that on January 5, 21 students had tested positive and another 120 students were on quarantine. That same day, 14 staff tested positive and another 7 staff were on quarantine.
Although the numbers fluctuated during the following week, by the time Thursday, January 13 arrived, the supervisor reported the numbers had skyrocketed.
“As of 11 a.m. Thursday, across the parish we had 51 students test positive and 330 having to be quarantined,” Taylor said. “We also had 28 staff members test positive and another 23 having to be quarantined.”
Taylor said that officials made the decision to conduct a virtual learning day for Friday, January 14, and to not allow staff or students at schools, in order to have five full days of separation in an effort to stop the spread.
School was not in session Monday, January 17, due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and another virtual learning day was already scheduled for Tuesday, January 18.
All LaSalle Parish schools were to be reopened as normal today, Wednesday, January 19.
Although the system’s numbers show that in the past three weeks approximately 80 new confirmed cases of COVID, the Louisiana Dashboard (that keeps track of official COVID numbers) has yet to be updated to show the increase.
As of January 14, the Dashboard shows that LaSalle Parish has only increased by 31 confirmed cases since December 31, 2021. Officials note that the Dashboard is typically two-four weeks behind in updated its numbers.
According to the Dashboard, LaSalle has 1,453 confirmed cases as of January 14. On December 31, 2021, that number was 1,422.
LaSalle Parish School officials are hoping that with the five day break the major outbreak and spread will be stopped or at the very least slowed to allow school to be conducted as normal for the rest of the year.
Officials also asked that if any student is experiencing symptoms of COVID to please get tested before returning to school.
