1,009 Students, Staff Attending Mass. Schools Test Positive For COVID-19

More than 1,000 students and staff who attended or worked at a Massachusetts school reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 during the past week.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's weekly data revealed 591 students and 418 staff members who were learning or working on campus tested positive during the week of December 10-16, WCVB reports.

According to the report, the New Bedford School District reported the highest amount of positive cases (33,) with Quincy, Plymouth and Shrewsbury following.

Massachusetts officials estimate about 450,000 students statewide are attending school in-person amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires all school districts to report COVID-19 cases among students and employees who are attending classes or working in-person, even on a limited schedule, for its COVID-19 report, which is released to the public on a weekly basis.

Massachusetts DESE officials said the data did not reveal any examples of the coronavirus being transmitted within the schools.

On Thursday (December 17,) the Massachusetts Health Department announced a total of 297,301 COVID-19 cases reported in the state of Massachusetts since the pandemic began in March, including 4,985 new cases in a 24-hour span and 76,215 active cases.

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