Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Aug 30, 2024 23:52:18 GMT
Nearly 30 HISD schools have COVID-19 in their wastewater, public health officials say - Published Aug 30, 2024
Public health officials detected COVID-19 in the wastewater of two-thirds of HISD schools two weeks into the start of the new school year, Houston Health Department officials said.
The department detected the disease in 29 of the 45 schools monitored as part of the department’s Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard. Dr. Jeanna White, deputy health authority for the Houston Health Department, said that COVID-19 levels have begun to plateau in recent weeks, but residents should remain alert and seek treatment if they experience any symptoms.
“For the past couple weeks, our wastewater numbers have been leveling out, meaning they’re not increasing,” White said. “But that’s not to say that people shouldn’t pay attention to their personal risks and health concerns. … If you have risks, comorbid conditions or just think you’re showing symptoms, you should still seek treatment immediately.”
The department’s wastewater dashboard, which tracks the presence of COVID-19 in the city’s sewer water, does appear to have evened out over the past month. Since late June, the viral load — defined as the number of viral pieces that entered a water treatment plant on a given day — has hovered around 300, less than half of the city-wide high reached in early 2022.
The dashboard displays data relative to July 2020. As of Aug. 19, the Houston Health Department reported COVID-19 levels to be just under three times those recorded in 2020. While this may seem alarming, data collected from wastewater treatment facilities is only a small part of the greater picture, White said.
“When you’re dealing with wastewater, you have to think about what data you’re capturing,” White said. “There are a host of factors that can skew data one way or another. If there was a concert or other big event, you might see a spike. Part of the reason we started looking at schools is because it provides an extra level of granularity to the data.”
School wastewater provides a more narrow sample that is largely limited to residents and families, White said. This can help eliminate outliers in the form of conventions and other events that bring people to the city.
But data shows some areas have fared better than others. Kingwood, for example, currently sits at a staggering 1800% of the viral load detected in 2020. That’s despite having just a fraction of Houston’s population.
Rebecca Schneider, a staff analyst for the Houston Health Department, said there are a host of factors that can result in higher COVID-19 numbers for certain regions. In particular, areas like Kingwood that had lower levels at the start of the pandemic tend to produce more alarming figures when upticks occur.
“You have to keep in mind that this is in comparison to July 2020. Places that had lower levels then might look really, really bad in 2024,” Schneider said. “With that in mind, Kingwood is one of the few areas where we are seeing an increase in the disease.”
Looking forward, White said the Houston Health Department will continue monitoring COVID-19 levels across the city and take appropriate action as needed. For the time being, residents should continue to take basic precautions to guard themselves from the disease.
Parents of students who attend schools where COVID-19 was recently detected should be on the lookout for any symptoms and seek treatment as needed. White said it’s important that parents keep their children at home if they believe they might be sick.
“It’s all about just maintaining those best practices,” White said. “Cover your cough, cover your sneeze, use hand sanitizer and distance yourself when you’re sick or you have a fever. The best tool against COVID-19 is prevention.”
COVID-19 has been detected in the following schools since Aug. 19:
Sharpstown International School
Scarborough Elementary School
Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School
Reagan K-8 Educational Center
Gabriela Mistral Center for Early Childhood
Milby High School
Lyons Elementary School
Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center
Sam Houston MSTC High School
Garcia Elementary School
Farias Early Childhood Center
Energized For Excellence Academy Elementary
Cunningham Elementary School
Crespo Elementary School
Cornelius Elementary School
Chavez High School
Challenge Early College High
Burnet Elementary School
Berry Elementary School
Barrick Elementary School
Brookline Elementary School
Braeburn Elementary School
Bonner Elementary School
Benavidez Elementary School
Park Place Elementary School
Sam Houston MSTC High School
Gallegos Elementary School
Edison Middle School
De Chaumes Elementary School
Public health officials detected COVID-19 in the wastewater of two-thirds of HISD schools two weeks into the start of the new school year, Houston Health Department officials said.
The department detected the disease in 29 of the 45 schools monitored as part of the department’s Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard. Dr. Jeanna White, deputy health authority for the Houston Health Department, said that COVID-19 levels have begun to plateau in recent weeks, but residents should remain alert and seek treatment if they experience any symptoms.
“For the past couple weeks, our wastewater numbers have been leveling out, meaning they’re not increasing,” White said. “But that’s not to say that people shouldn’t pay attention to their personal risks and health concerns. … If you have risks, comorbid conditions or just think you’re showing symptoms, you should still seek treatment immediately.”
The department’s wastewater dashboard, which tracks the presence of COVID-19 in the city’s sewer water, does appear to have evened out over the past month. Since late June, the viral load — defined as the number of viral pieces that entered a water treatment plant on a given day — has hovered around 300, less than half of the city-wide high reached in early 2022.
The dashboard displays data relative to July 2020. As of Aug. 19, the Houston Health Department reported COVID-19 levels to be just under three times those recorded in 2020. While this may seem alarming, data collected from wastewater treatment facilities is only a small part of the greater picture, White said.
“When you’re dealing with wastewater, you have to think about what data you’re capturing,” White said. “There are a host of factors that can skew data one way or another. If there was a concert or other big event, you might see a spike. Part of the reason we started looking at schools is because it provides an extra level of granularity to the data.”
School wastewater provides a more narrow sample that is largely limited to residents and families, White said. This can help eliminate outliers in the form of conventions and other events that bring people to the city.
But data shows some areas have fared better than others. Kingwood, for example, currently sits at a staggering 1800% of the viral load detected in 2020. That’s despite having just a fraction of Houston’s population.
Rebecca Schneider, a staff analyst for the Houston Health Department, said there are a host of factors that can result in higher COVID-19 numbers for certain regions. In particular, areas like Kingwood that had lower levels at the start of the pandemic tend to produce more alarming figures when upticks occur.
“You have to keep in mind that this is in comparison to July 2020. Places that had lower levels then might look really, really bad in 2024,” Schneider said. “With that in mind, Kingwood is one of the few areas where we are seeing an increase in the disease.”
Looking forward, White said the Houston Health Department will continue monitoring COVID-19 levels across the city and take appropriate action as needed. For the time being, residents should continue to take basic precautions to guard themselves from the disease.
Parents of students who attend schools where COVID-19 was recently detected should be on the lookout for any symptoms and seek treatment as needed. White said it’s important that parents keep their children at home if they believe they might be sick.
“It’s all about just maintaining those best practices,” White said. “Cover your cough, cover your sneeze, use hand sanitizer and distance yourself when you’re sick or you have a fever. The best tool against COVID-19 is prevention.”
COVID-19 has been detected in the following schools since Aug. 19:
Sharpstown International School
Scarborough Elementary School
Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School
Reagan K-8 Educational Center
Gabriela Mistral Center for Early Childhood
Milby High School
Lyons Elementary School
Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center
Sam Houston MSTC High School
Garcia Elementary School
Farias Early Childhood Center
Energized For Excellence Academy Elementary
Cunningham Elementary School
Crespo Elementary School
Cornelius Elementary School
Chavez High School
Challenge Early College High
Burnet Elementary School
Berry Elementary School
Barrick Elementary School
Brookline Elementary School
Braeburn Elementary School
Bonner Elementary School
Benavidez Elementary School
Park Place Elementary School
Sam Houston MSTC High School
Gallegos Elementary School
Edison Middle School
De Chaumes Elementary School