Despite all protective measures, an unvaccinated teacher at a school in California (USA) caused a corona outbreak.
San Francisco – An unvaccinated teacher caused a corona outbreak at a primary school in California (USA). Despite the mask requirement, she is said to have taken off her mouth and nose protection at least once in the classroom in order to read aloud when she was already infected, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Scientists analyzed the high-profile case for the American health authority, which had already occurred in May 2021. From their point of view, it shows on the one hand how important it is that school employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus – and on the other hand how rapidly the highly contagious Delta variant * can spread, especially among children who are too young to be vaccinated.
USA: Teacher continued working with symptoms before the corona outbreak
At the time of the Corona outbreak, the unspecified city in which the primary school is located had a vaccination rate of 72 percent. It is located in Marin County, a wealthy district in the metropolitan area of San Francisco. 205 children go to primary school and the workforce consists of 24 people.
Only two of the teachers were not vaccinated against Corona, according to the case report, one of them is said to have been the reason for a total of 26 detected infections in students, parents and siblings. Despite a cough, fever and headache, the alleged “patient Zero” is said to have continued to work for several days. The teacher assigned the first symptoms to allergies.
Corona protective measures did not save California school from the outbreak
None of the children in the American elementary school were old enough to have a corona vaccination. The CDC only recommends this from 12 years of age. However, there were protective measures in the facility: In the school building, teachers and students had to wear masks. In addition, all classrooms of the school are said to have been equipped with “highly effective” air filters and doors and windows are said to have been open.
The children sat at individual tables more than a meter apart. Parents later stated on the record that their offspring had also adhered to these requirements. Of the 24 students in the corona-positive teacher’s class, 22 were tested, and twelve had a corona infection confirmed by the laboratory.
Corona outbreak at school: Those who sat closer to the teacher’s desk became infected
The first row of seats directly in front of the teacher’s desk was hardest hit. Eight out of ten children became infected. In addition, four out of 14 students in the three rows behind it contracted the virus. Six corona cases also occurred in a second grade, probably through interactions in the school context. There were also eight additional cases among parents and siblings. Three of those affected were fully vaccinated.
A total of 22 of the 27 infected people (including the teacher) developed Covid symptoms. The most common were fever, cough, and headache. Nobody came to the hospital. The local health department in Marin County initiated a mass test, all corona-positive persons and the contact persons had to be quarantined for ten days. The classrooms were cleaned but were closed for a week.
Corona variant is rampant after the outbreak at American schools
During studies, US researchers found the contagious Delta variant in 18 of the available samples of the corona outbreak. Observers assume that several corona cases that later occurred in the city can be traced back to the outbreak in the school. Overall, the corona numbers in the USA are now rising sharply, which is why virologist Anthony Fauci recently suggested compulsory vaccination *. The worries are particularly great because of the start of school – also because a mask requirement in the American classrooms is controversial. * giessener-allgemeine.de and fr.de are offers from IPPEN..MEDIA
