CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — COVID-19 cases have begun to soar in schools across the Coastal Bend area, as students return after the summer break.
Over the weekend, the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District reported 354 new cases in the last week from Aug. 18-25, according to the Corpus Christi Independent School District.
They are also seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases across the district. CCISD provided a statement to 3NEWS that said:
Yes, we have been experiencing a number of reported positive COVID cases for both students and staff. This was an expected occurrence, as students and staff are retuning to classrooms from the summer break. Other districts in our area and across the state have also seen an uptick in COVID positive cases as classes resume.
Dr. Kim Onufrak with Surepoint Emergency Center said they are also seeing these cases in their ER. She said if you're ill or have been around someone who is ill, you should take precautions.
"If you've been diagnosed with COVID you want to do your isolation precaution. You want to isolate for at least five days," she said. "But studies show at least two out of three people are still infectious after those five days. So we do recommend you mask up for an additional five days if returning to school or work."
Onufrak said a negative test could mean it's too early, and you should test again after 48 hours to be safe. If it's positive, a new symptom she and her team are seeing is pink eye. Onufrak said that if a child is experiencing that, it might be a good idea to test for COVID-19 as well.
CCISD went on to say that the district continues to follow its strict sanitizing and cleaning protocol while encouraging handwashing and respiratory etiquette habits among students and staff in an effort to reduce the spread of all communicable diseases.
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