Reported cases of COVID-19 in Clark County schools are continuing a rapid decline that’s been observed over a month now.
School districts have reported 155 new cases of the virus over the last week, a decrease from 259 the previous week.
Health officials have warned that the increased use of at-home tests and difficulties providing in-office tests means that the true number of COVID-19 infections is likely to exceed the official statistics.
Districts are also continuing to struggle with staffing shortages and contact tracing as weekly totals remain in the dozens in some areas.
The following data can be found for each school district on the Clark County Public Health website. It is typically updated by each district weekly.
Evergreen Public Schools reported 27 new cases between Feb. 21 and Feb. 27 — a decrease from 72 in the previous week.
Vancouver Public Schools reported 39 new cases between Feb. 23 and March 1 — a decrease from 74 in the previous week. Students accounted for 30 of these cases, while nine were among staff members.
Battle Ground Public Schools reported 30 new cases between Feb. 19 and Feb. 25 — a decrease from 59 in the previous week. Students accounted for 26 of these new cases, while four were among staff members.
The Camas School District reported 34 new cases between Feb. 20 and Feb. 26, the same number as the previous week. Students accounted for 29 of these new cases, while five were among staff members.
The Ridgefield School District reported 14 new cases between Feb. 22 and Feb. 28 — a marginal decrease from 15 in the previous week. Students accounted for 13 of these new cases, while just one was a staff member.
The Hockinson School District reported no new cases between Feb. 24 and March 1 — down from just four cases in the previous week. The district reported that 24 students are out sick with COVID-19 symptoms, the vast majority of them from Hockinson Heights Elementary School.
The La Center School District reported eight new cases between Feb. 18 and Feb. 25 — showing no change from eight cases in the previous week. Students accounted for six of these new cases, while two were among staff members.
The Washougal School District reported three new cases between Feb. 25 and March 1 — a slight increase from the two cases reported in the previous week. Students accounted for all three of these new cases.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that Washington — along with Oregon and California — would be bumping up the cancellation of its indoor mask mandate to March 12 in response to rapidly diminishing case totals.
Spokespeople from Clark County schools said they are continuing to regularly test students and staff and follow other health and safety protocols in the meantime, but have not yet received guidance from state health officials on what protocols will remain in place once the mandate is lifted on March 12.
Oregon officials announced Wednesday that after that date, the state would end contact tracing and mandatory quarantines for the general public, including schools.
Similar guidance is expected from Washington health and education officials in the coming days.
