Second class at Bellingham elementary school goes remote after positive COVID-19 case
A class at Wade King Elementary School has returned to remote learning after someone associated with that class tested positive for COVID-19, Bellingham Public Schools confirmed to The Bellingham Herald on Monday, Nov. 23.
It’s the second known class in the school district to stop in-person learning after a reported case.
Last week, a class at Birchwood Elementary School returned to remote learning until Nov. 30.
The positive COVID-19 case at Wade King was confirmed Monday, according to Dana Smith, spokesperson for the school district. The class will learn remotely until Dec. 3.
Smith declined to provide additional information about the person who tested positive or their close contacts, citing privacy laws for adults and children.
“If we learn of a case associated with one of our schools, we follow the protocol we developed in partnership with the Whatcom County Health Department to interrupt the spread and transfer of the virus,” Smith said to The Herald.
“In this case, that included changing the learning environment in an effort to keep that class safe and to not spread COVID-19 within the school,” she said.
All seven public school districts in Whatcom County have at least some students back in classrooms for in-person learning, with health and safety rules in place that include mask-wearing, social distancing and checking students each day for symptoms.
Exactly how many COVID-19 cases have occurred at public or private schools in Whatcom County since some children returned for in-person classes is unknown.
The Whatcom County Health Department has declined to provide that information to The Herald, citing patient privacy protections under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, often referred to as HIPAA, as well as its ongoing practice of not sharing industry- or employer-specific data.
The Herald learned about the case at Wade King Elementary School from a tip.
Last week, the Whatcom County health officer changed his recommendation and advised schools to pause plans to expand in-person instruction for middle and high school students in light of the recent and ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases.
But Dr. Greg Stern didn’t ask schools to backtrack when it came to elementary students who already had returned to their classrooms.
