SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As thousands of kids return to school, COVID-19 cases are climbing again.
Current COVID-19 data shows the positivity rate in San Diego County has climbed to more than 21%. Looking back at April, the positivity rate was about 2%. This is the highest positivity rate since Omicron surged at the end of 2021.
Dr. William Tseng with Kaiser Permanente explains that while two new variants—KP.1 and KP.3—are making their way through the community, the good news is that the hospitalization rate and death rate have remained low.
“The mortality or the death rate is about only 50% of what it was last year and actually ten times less than it was in 2022,” said Dr. Tseng.
With a new school year beginning, Dr. Tseng urges families, particularly those with immunocompromised loved ones, to remain vigilant and stay up to date on vaccinations. He says a new round of vaccines should be available in about a month.
Susan Barndollar, Executive Director of Nursing and Wellness at San Diego Unified School District, says the district offers COVID-19 tests for families in need.
“We still report if there seems to be an outbreak, which is three or more cases,” said Barndollar.
She says they’re in constant communication with the California Department of Public Health and continue to follow their guidelines, which means vaccines are recommended but not required.
“If a student is ill with fever, we want that student to stay home; if they have fever and they're showing symptoms, we want them to test for COVID. And then, as long as their students are feeling better, we want them back at school,” she said.
