Ten schools in the Denver metro area reported new COVID-19 outbreaks in the week ending Wednesday, on the heels of Denver Public Schools’ announcement that it would return some elementary school students to virtual classes.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment defines an outbreak as two or more cases linked to the same location or event. If students tested positive on the first day of classes, that wouldn’t be a school-based outbreak.
All of the new outbreaks are small, with two or three people testing positive, but they can cause disruption by forcing students to quarantine at home.
Schools reporting new outbreaks were:
- Cowell Elementary School, Denver Public Schools
- FutureForward at Washington Square, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
- Global Leadership Academy, Mapleton Public Schools
- Maxwell Elementary School, DPS
- Mile High Academy, private school in Douglas County
- Ranum Middle School, Westminster Public Schools
- Rocky Mountain Prep Creekside, DPS
- Vega Collegiate Academy, Aurora Public Schools
- Westerly Creek Elementary, DPS
- York International School, Mapleton
The number of new outbreaks fluctuates from week to week, but there has been a clear increase as the school year has gone on. In September, 18 schools reported outbreaks, but 39 have so far in October.
Statewide, 50 K-12 schools have ongoing outbreaks. Another nine outbreaks in schools are considered over, according to the state health department.
The state health department also reports that 17 outbreaks are ongoing at colleges and universities, with the newest clusters reported in a law enforcement program at Red Rocks Community College and a nursing program at Trinidad State Junior College.
The largest university outbreaks were relatively stable. Colorado State University didn’t add any new cases to the previous total of 566, and the University of Colorado Boulder’s total decreased to 1,778 following an error in last week’s data that raised its total by 14. The University of Denver’s campus-wide outbreak grew by 37, however, reaching a total of 256 cases.
So far in October, the state has reported 10 university-associated outbreaks, which isn’t substantially different from nine in September. It’s more difficult to be sure if the number of new college outbreaks is increasing or decreasing than it is with K-12 schools, however, because the state health department initially reports cases by the associated team, dormitory or fraternity, before combining them into a single campus-wide outbreak if the virus is spreading widely.
