(Photo courtesy Lowell Elementary Facebook page)
A COVID-19 outbreak at Lowell Elementary School in Winfield canceled classes Tuesday and this week’s parent-teacher conferences will be virtual.
According to USD 465, deep cleaning protocols will be followed for all areas of the Lowell facility and that COVID testing will be offered to all Lowell students, staff and families Tuesday and Wednesday.
Because the school’s calendar already has Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as “non-student contact days” there will be no more in-person classes the rest of the week.
Cowley County added 13 new cases of the virus over the weekend, according to Monday’s latest report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment — a two-day low since new cases spiked beginning in August and especially September.
Friday, Cowley County Public Health Officer Thomas Langer wrote in an update on COVID in the county that October cases to date are down by 20% when compared to the first 15 days of September 2021 (248 vs 297).
“The majority of new cases continue to be found in families with children and strongly suggest the spread is a result of the social interactions of students,” Langer reported. “The Delta variant has had a profound impact on the population under the age of 18.
“During 2020 the school-aged population was largely spared infection, in 2021 that has not been the case. Since August 1, 2021, 39% of new cases in the county (353 of 895) have occurred in persons aged 18-and-under.”
The vast majority of new cases continue to be among the unvaccinated, Langer reported.
Of the 1,612 new virus cases since March 31, 2021, 91.3% — or 1,471 — were residents who were not vaccinated.
Langer also reported a new death has been added to the county’s total.
So far, 124 Cowley County residents have died due to complications of COVID-19 since the first death was reported in April 2020.
