NOLA-PS Provides Update on COVID-19 Impact in Schools: March 28-Apr. 1

(New Orleans – April 4, 2022) – The positive test rate of NOLA Public Schools' (NOLA-PS) districtwide testing program remains below 1%.

Our schools, with the assistance of health partners, administered 16,251 COVID-19 tests last week, yielding a positive test rate of 0.12%, among its students and staff. This weekly data continues to show our schools' COVID safety measures are working to keep our students and staff safe inside our school buildings.

"Our community of schools are doing a great job continuing weekly COVID-19 testing for our students and staff and making sure our campuses remain safe," Dr. Lewis said. "We'd like to thank our school leaders, teachers, and staff for their continued hard work in keeping the virus at bay."

Since our COVID-19 tracking data continues to remain low, beginning Monday, April 11, the COVID Tracker will only report the counts of COVID-19 cases identified in the Louisiana Department of Health's (LDH) COVID-19 data. These data include weekly case counts by school. NOLA-PS will continue to provide data around the school community's testing participation and positive test rates. NOLA-PS continues to urge all students and staff to get tested weekly. Families can connect directly with their school regarding testing resources.

Working with its medical advisors, NOLA-PS continues to assess its safety guidelines based on the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). These updates can be viewed here.

For information on vaccination opportunities, please contact your school or visit www.nolapublicschools.com/vaccinations or www.ready.nola.gov for details on testing and vaccination sites.

This week's COVID Tracker provides an update for the week of March 28 – Apr. 1.

The District is currently tracking 6 total cases of COVID-19 (2 staff; 4 students) among 4 schools in our school community, resulting in 44 individuals in quarantine. From March 28-Apr. 1, NOLA-PS completed 16,251 COVID-19 tests with a positive test rate of 0.12 percent.

It's important to note as the weekly positivity rate remains low, our schools are focusing their attention on the normal daily responsibilities of caring for and educating our city's children. While schools are required to continue to report cases to the state, many schools are gradually relieving themselves of the extra burden of reporting the data to the District, which goes above and beyond what's required by health officials, and the COVID Tracker data from this point forward may reflect this.

During the height of the pandemic, NOLA-PS and its community of schools went above and beyond in reporting COVID-19 requirements. The District established a reporting system for its schools and volunteered this information via the weekly COVID Tracker to give families and educators as much information as possible to make the best choices for their classes, children, and loved ones. This real time data has aided our medical advisors and staff to make real time decisions on mitigation needs and other decisions based on public health surveillance.

With that in mind, NOLA-PS will continue to publicly share each week the number of confirmed cases and precautionary quarantines that our schools self-report. We will also continue to remain in close contact with the LDH and our health advisers as we navigate the 2021-2022 school year.

Our goal continues to be to preserve in-person learning, safely and effectively. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, the LDH, and the New Orleans Health Department have analyzed the data, and all agree the best place for children to be is in the classroom. The benefits include developing social and emotional skills, access to healthy meals and activities, and access to mental health support that cannot be offered through virtual learning.

NOLA-PS' COVID-19 Case Tracker provides cumulative data of self-reported cases in our public schools since this reporting began on Sept. 21, 2020. Last school year's data is archived and available for viewing on our website.

To learn more about our quarantine and isolation process for the 2021-2022 school year, please refer to NOLA-PS' COVID Guidance for the details.

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.

For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.