Meanwhile, Richmond, where masks have always been universal, will weigh a decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for staff. Superintendent Jason Kamras has said he expects the School Board to approve the mandate. In Henrico, Robin Gilbert, who heads school health for the district, said it’s been discussed, but the Henrico Health Committee does not have plans to mandate vaccines for staff or students.
There have been 424 COVID-19 outbreaks in K-12 schools across the state since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health, which lists significantly higher numbers of outbreaks among other institutions, such as assisted living facilities.
Richmond Public Schools has seen around 250 quarantines since July, many related to summer programs. At the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, a charter school that is part of RPS but governed by its own board, all 53 fourth-graders are currently quarantined because of four positive cases.
As of Thursday, there were 46 positive cases among Hopewell Public Schools students and staff, up from 33 on Monday. More than 200 students and staff were in quarantine; just four infections were traced back to schools.
Some of the COVID-19 cases in schools have been breakthrough cases, or positive COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated people, which typically are milder but have still resulted in hospitalizations and deaths nationwide.
