Thousands of school-age children have tested positive for the new coronavirus in Tennessee over the past two weeks, along with the return of students to classes in the state.
Data updated by the Tennessee Department of Health on Tuesday showed more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in teens between Aug. 4 and Aug. 18, with a handful of counties reporting upwards of 200 infections in the allotted time period. Statistics account for positive cases reported in children between 5 and 18 years of age. High school kids composed the largest fraction of Tennessee’s new juvenile delinquency, accounting for more than half of the health department’s two weeks.
Tennessee’s Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby Counties saw the most important outbreaks affecting children at school age since the first week of August, according to the Department of Health’s latest report. Those three counties also confirmed the highest concentrations of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee.
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Although information on virus transmission among the state’s youth population provides general insight into potential risks associated with personal learning models, current data do not provide specific information on cases linked to individual schools. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called for full transparency regarding school-specific outbreaks earlier this month, but backpedaled in reactions to reporters on Tuesday.
During a news conference, Lee explained that although school districts will inform their respective communities about closures triggered by outbreaks of COVID-19, the state will refrain from publishing information on case counts linked to schools. He said the decision was rooted in protecting the identities of children, and keeping their personal details out of the public sphere.
Lee faced backlash from state residents opposing schools that reopened last month as Tennessee continued to report an increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
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Despite a massive increase in infections reported in June and July, most of Tennessee’s school districts – more than 100 of about 140 statewide – have allowed students to return to classrooms by the second week of August, according to The Tennessean.
Of those districts that have returned to personal learning this month, at least 97 positive cases of the novel coronavirus linked to schools were confirmed after the reopening, the newspaper reported last Thursday. In what is becoming a pattern in the state where students return to schools in early August, multiple Tennessee school systems have turned down options for physical attendance in response to virus cases.
In Hamilton County, where Chattanooga is located, education officials ordered two schools to be temporarily closed after identifying positive COVID-19 cases during the first day of students returning to classes. The Nashville Public Schools, in Davidson County, reopened for the 2020-21 academic year on August 4th. However, the district director, Adrienne Battle, is required to provide distance learning classes until Labor Day.
Nearly 138,800 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tennessee since the pandemic began, resulting in about 2,500 deaths as of Tuesday, August 18, according to the state Department of Health.
Newsweek reached the Tennessee Department of Health and the Department of Education for comment, but received no response in time for publication.
