Pima County Schools trending in right direction with COVID cases

TUCSON (KVOA) - Since schoolhouse started successful precocious July much than 1,413 COVID cases person been reported successful schools successful Pima County.

The Pima County Health Department is hopeful we whitethorn person seen the worst of it arsenic numbers trended down this past week.

Of the 1,413 COVID cases reported successful schools truthful acold this year, 671 are from children who cant beryllium vaccinated and 550 are from students aged 12-19.

The remainder of the cases are from unit successful schools.

According to PCHD, a large crushed the numbers are going down is owed to layered mitigation successful schools specified arsenic testing, sanitizing and disguise use.

"Especially successful airy of the delta variant, that is simply a peculiarly high-risk vulnerability and particularly among children who are unvaccinated oregon unvaccinatable," said Dr. Francisco Garcia, Chief Medical Officer PCHD.

According to Garcia, vulnerability happens erstwhile a idiosyncratic is six feet oregon person to a known infected idiosyncratic for much than 15 minutes.

So far, 53 outbreaks person happened astatine schools successful Pima County, which is simply a comparatively debased fig and a bully motion for debased transmission successful schools.

Right now, six section districts person disguise mandates.

"To me, this supports getting each 9 schoolhouse districts successful Pima County and each of our charter schools and everyone progressive with a disguise mandate," said Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz.

Dr. Garcia says that helium feels we whitethorn person deed the highest of this surge, but helium says he's hesitant to accidental the 4th surge successful Pima County is over.

That is due to the fact that the University of Arizona and Pima Community College started classes aboriginal than the section K-12 districts and we whitethorn spot a bump successful cases from that.

"What I'm hoping to spot is simply a steep diminution successful the fig of caller cases," Garcia said. "If we proceed to spot that successful mid to precocious September past I deliberation we'll beryllium capable to accidental that this is complete."

Both the UArizona and PCC person disguise mandates successful spot for each indoor spaces connected their campuses wherever societal distancing is not possible.