BOISE, Idaho — While community spread of COVID-19 in Ada County continues to alarm local health officials, transmission rates within the Boise school district and the West Ada school district remain low.
But what is the impact on those cases in the rest of Ada County?
Medical experts from Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke’s, as well as Central District Health officials, say that while community spread of COVID-19 is a top concern in Ada County, a vast majority of the 18,173 cases are not from spread within Boise schools.
The Boise School District is currently operating under a hybrid model. Students have two days of in-person learning a week, and three days of online instruction.
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The school district has approximately 30,328 students and staff. From June 22 to Nov.5, there have been 200 total cases of COVID-19 in the Boise School District: just .76% of the total number of students and staff.
However, that number doesn’t reflect any cases from the Boise Online School, just the 45 physical schools in the school district. The 200 cases in the Boise School District accounts for about 1.1% of the total cases in Ada County.
In the West Ada School District, the total number of cases since school started on Sept. 19 is 179. West Ada has 41,876 students and staff, meaning only .42% of the school district’s population has been infected. The West Ada cases account for .98% of the total number of cases in Ada County.
West Ada will send grades kindergarten through fifth-grade back to school for full-time in-person learning on Nov. 10.
Local health experts say community spread is primarily associated with non-school related activities, but say schools should continue to enforce wearing face coverings, physical distancing, and regularly disinfecting hands and surfaces to minimize risk for students, staff, and families.
RELATED: West Ada School Board approves new reopening plan, approves motion for chairman resignation
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.
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