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A dozen Oakland County schools report 34 Covid cases since late April, affecting 32 students from elementary through high school grades. In Madison Heights, the virus infected two cafeteria workers.
(Photo: Detroit Public Schools Community District)
Rochester Hills is hardest-hit, with nine eighth-graders at West Middle School testing positive and four affected at Stoney Creek High.
Wayne and Macomb have outbreaks affecting 14 students at five schools.
Figures are from a weekly "New School Outbreaks" list posted Monday afternoon by the state. It defines an outbreak as "two or more Covid-19 cases who may have shared exposure on school grounds and are from different households. Case counts for school-related outbreaks include those associated with before- and after-school programs such as school-sponsored sports. ... New outbreaks are those outbreaks that were first identified during the current reporting week" of April 29 to May 6.
In related news Monday from Washington, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for students aged 12-15. Now a Centers for Disease Control committee will decide Wednesday whether to recommend the shots for that age group. Shots have been abvailable only for people age 16 and older.
Oakland's list has 11 public schools (including a charter academy in Waterford) and an Oak Park religious high school run by Yeshiva Beth Yehudah:
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Beth Jacob High, Oak Park: 2 juniors
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Brandon High, Ortonville: 2 seniors
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Dublin Elementary, White Lake: 3 fifth-graders
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Hazel Park High: 2 seniors
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Hickory Woods Elementary, Novi: 2 second-graders
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Lakeville Elementary, Oxford: 2 third-graders
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Madison Heights Elementary: 2 food service employees
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Oakside Scholars Academy, Waterford Township: 2 seventh-graders
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Sashabaw Middle School, Clarkston: 2 seventh-graders
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Stoney Creek High, Rochester Hills: 4 students (grades 9-11)
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Walled Lake Elementary: 2 fourth-graders
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West Middle School, Rochester Hills: 9 eighth-graders
The situation in two neighboring Metro Detroit counties is a dramatic contrast.
Only two Wayne County sites report new cases:
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Earhart Elementary-Middle School, Detroit: 2 administrative employees
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St. Stephen Catholic School, New Boston: 8 elementary pupils and staff
Detroit's school board voted April 15 to suspend in-person instruction. Members will decide May 18 whether to extend that safety step through June, based on the city's infection rate.
In Macomb, three buildings are on the weekly list from the Department of Heath and Human Services in Lansing:
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Clinton Valley Elementary, Mt. Clemens: 2 pupils
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Davis Junior High, Sterling Heights: 2 students
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Shelby Junior High: 2 students
