COVID cases increase among Midstate school-age children forcing transition to virtual learning at Shippensburg, Northern schools

Sep. 21—Cumberland County saw an increase in the number of cases among school-age children in the Department of Health's report for the third week of the school year.

The department said another 158 cases were reported among children aged 5-18 in the county during the week of Sept. 8-14. That brings the total number of cases in Cumberland County for this school year to 418.

That total number of cases to date is higher than the total number of cases reported in December 2020 when 383 cases were reported among children under the age of 17, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Until now, that had been the month with the most cases among that age group.

In total, 1,796 of the 2,009 cases of COVID-19 reported among children in the CDC data through Aug. 24 came during the 2020-21 school year.

Statewide, there were another 7,215 cases reported among 5- to 18-year-olds. The state is reporting the total number of cases in that age group for the school year thus far is 19,838.

By comparison, there were 753 cases reported statewide during the third week of school in 2020.

Increasing case counts are behind Northern York County School District's decision to transition to remote learning for its high school from Sept. 16 to Sept. 22 and its middle school from Sept. 17 to Sept. 22. On its website, the district cited a high number of positive cases along with associated close contacts and classroom outbreaks in announcing the decision.

As of the date of the announcement (Sept. 15), 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the high school within a 14-day moving range and more than 300 students were sent home after being identified as close contacts or symptomatic around those cases. By Friday's update, that number had risen to 34.

The middle school saw 18 confirmed cases in the 14-day window prior to the announcement that it would switch to remote learning. By Friday, that number rose to 20.

Shippensburg Area School District also switched to virtual instruction at its middle school during the week of Sept. 13 because of a rise in cases that required a significant number of students to quarantine, according to the district's website. Students returned to in-person learning Monday.

In the update to its website Monday, the district listed 15 new cases across its schools with one new case in the middle school. However, the totals since the beginning of the school year showed an increase of 35 cases from last week's total. An email to the district for clarification was not returned by the end of the school day.

School district case counts (updated Sept. 20)

The Sentinel's case counts for Cumberland County school districts are updated Monday and Thursdays. The policy for each school district's reporting is noted in the list below.

Big Spring School District (reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): seven student cases and one staff case as of Sept. 17.

Carlisle Area School District (reports cases as they occur): 12 cases since Sept. 18; 57 cases since Aug. 25.

Camp Hill School District (posts chart that includes total case count): Six cases since Sept. 14; 15 cases total.

Cumberland Valley School District (reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 37 cases from Sept. 13 through Sept. 17; 77 cases since Aug. 31.

Mechanicsburg Area School District (chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 21 cases of positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Sept. 17.

Shippensburg Area School District (reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure on Mondays): 35 new cases as of Sept. 20; 83 cases since Aug. 19.

South Middleton School District (posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Tuesdays): 23 total as of Sept. 13.

West Shore School District (reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 66 student cases and one staff case as of Sept. 20.

Email Tammie at tgitt@cumberlink.com. Follow her on Twitter @TammieGitt.

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