SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Students at schools across San Diego County have been back to in-person learning for a few months now.
According to the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), the most recent data available shows that local schools' preventative measures for reducing the spread of COVID-19 seem to be working.
"The trends have reflected what we've seen in the communities, the numbers were up in September, and they've gradually declined," said Bob Mueller, director of special projects for SDCOE. "I think the schools are doing a great job. What we've seen is that masking indoors really makes a difference in controlling the spread of this virus. In the last week reported by the county, we saw about 300 cases; in our schools in the county, there are about 1,000 schools, so pretty good numbers overall."
Mueller said the areas of most concern appear to be off-campus and in sports settings.
"For the most part, the greatest chance of transmission is at home, but we're also seeing transmission occurring in other settings. Sports, both inside the schools and outside the schools, are also places where kids come into close contact and have a kind of intense contact because they're breathing hard. So we're also seeing some outbreaks there."
According to data from the county's COVID-19 Watch Report through Oct. 16, late August saw the highest number of outbreaks in TK-12 settings. The number of outbreaks fluctuated weekly in September but now appears to be declining each week in October.
The county is expected to release an updated report Wednesday with the latest numbers from schools.
