Thirty-nine students in Salem-Keizer schools tested positive for Covid last week, a sharp decline from the 83 student cases recorded the week prior.
The Salem-Keizer School District’s Covid dashboard shows cases recorded inside district schools have declined in recent weeks as the overall number of Covid cases in Oregon has fallen.
The number of students identified as close contacts has also fallen, with 130 students identified last week, down from 181 the week before.
About 38,400 district students are attending classes in-person, according to an Oct. 7 enrollment report.
The district first published data about Covid in schools for the week ending Sept. 19, the first full week of classes. That week, 19 students who were attending class in-person had Covid, and 47 students were identified as close contacts.
The district recorded between 83 and 89 student Covid cases each week for the next three weeks.
Fewer Covid cases has also meant less disruption to classes. District spokesman Aaron Harada said no classes were sent home to quarantine last week.
The district’s health authority had moved some classes online following a student testing positive for Covid when they determine a large share of the class were close contacts with the infected student.
The most recent class-wide quarantine was a Myers Elementary School class which moved online Oct. 7 following a positive Covid case and returned in-person Oct. 18, Harada said.
-Rachel Alexander
