Active COVID clusters reported at 13 Triangle schools. That number is likely to rise
Thirteen Triangle schools — including nine in the Wake County school system — are now reporting COVID-19 outbreaks just as schools have filled up with students starting a new school year.
The latest state Department of Health and Human Services’ report of active COVID-19 clusters at schools and daycare centers lists clusters at 10 schools in Wake County, two in Durham County and one in Johnston County. The report is released on Tuesdays, so it won’t yet show the impact of the 1 million traditional-calendar students that returned to classes across the state this week.
Schools are dealing with the delta variant, which is three times more contagious than the original coronavirus strain. The Wake County school system has reported 516 cases this month on its COVID-19 dashboard, with cases mainly coming from year-round schools that opened in July, as well as from athletic teams at high schools.
The number of clusters and cases is expected to soar now that schools have more students in them since before the coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020. Supporters of requiring face masks, a policy mandated in 90 of North Carolina’s 115 school districts, say the numbers would be much higher if masking was optional.
Clusters in Wake, Durham and Johnston counties
In Wake County, clusters were reported at Herbert Akins Road Elementary, Holly Grove Elementary, Knightdale High, Lufkin Road Middle, Neuse River Middle, North Forest Pines Elementary, Salem Elementary, Sanderson High and Turner Creek Elementary.
Salem and Sanderson were tied with the most cases on the report for Wake at 10 each.
Holly Grove, Knightdale and Sanderson were new to the report this week.
The report also shows active clusters at Endeavor Charter School in Wake Forest, Easley Elementary and Central Park Charter School in Durham and Smithfield-Selma High School in Johnston County.
The state defines a cluster as five or more related cases at a facility within a 14-day period.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 4:55 PM.
