Fewer Valley kids contracting COVID-19
Statistics suggest masking may have contributed to the decline - News 11's Wiley Jawhary reports
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Imperial County Public Health Department (ICPHD) has good news for parents: it's seeing fewer new cases of COVID-19 among local children. However, that doesn't mean your kid will head to class without a mask any time soon.
The Imperial County Public Health Department (ICPDH) says coronavirus cases among those 5 to 17 have been trending downwards for the past few weeks. Health officials say new cases in that age bracket went from 78 in early November down to 44 in the first week of December.
“I do want to say that we are seeing in this last week, cases in the 5 to 17 year old decreased,” Janette Angulo the health director with the ICPHD said.
The trend isn't enough to keep kids from masking up in Valley classrooms. ICPHD Director Janet Angulo says masks will remain mandatory in schools, as they will in all public indoor spaces across the state after last week's renewal of the indoor mask mandate.
Valley students have been wearing masks to class for nearly a year now, so it's not a big change for them, but health officials say it has made a change in the number of kids contracting COVID. Data shows cases in children started declining in September, just after they went back to school.
Brawley schools are among the school benefitting from the trend. Superintendent Richard Rundhaugh says there are fewer students testing positive for the virus on his campuses as well.
“Schools were under a different guideline than the general public, schools have been under a guideline requiring students and staff to wear masks since the beginning of this school year,” he said.
