Open windows at Liberty Elementary School on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
With the school year in full swing, Oregon health and education officials will be live on Facebook Wednesday to answer questions about kids, Covid and school safety.
The live Q&A takes place at 11:30 a.m. and features Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education, and Dr. Thomas Jeanne, deputy state health officer and epidemiologist with the Oregon Health Authority.
State data shows the number of kids and teens contracting Covid increased substantially from early July through mid-August as Covid infections in all ages soared across Oregon. That was prior to school starting in most districts, including Salem-Keizer.
Marion and Polk counties both saw the highest number of Covid cases in people under 18 the week of Aug. 22., when Marion County reported 228 new infections. Polk County reported 56, according to OHA.
Rates of Covid have been highest in adolescents age 12 to 17, who are eligible to be vaccinated.
More recently, the number of new Covid cases among kids appears to be leveling off, though OHA notes their data may not yet reflect people who developed symptoms of Covid in the previous two weeks.
-Rachel Alexander
