Oct 4, 2022 - COVID

COVID cases are low in D.C. schools, but data reporting has changed

Chelsea Cirruzzo

Illustration of a school bus with a covid bug on its stop sign. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

COVID-19 cases in D.C.’s public schools remain low a month into the academic year — although the data available is much less detailed than last year and it’s harder to make comparisons.

Why it matters: COVID in schools is a much different story this year than last. Most students are able to be vaccinated and more vaccine requirements are in place.

As of Sept. 28, 90 DCPS students have tested positive and are in isolation. Forty-nine personnel are also positive and in isolation. As of this date last year, 477 students were positive and in isolation — and cases soon topped the thousands during the initial winter Omicron surge.

Yes, but: Experts tell ABC News it can be difficult to compare this year’s data to last year's because current masking and testing guidance is less robust.

What’s happening: In D.C., data reporting for schools has also changed. While DCPS continues to post case counts for each school on a daily and weekly basis, DC Health has not published data broken down by grade level or by public, private, and charter schools since June 2022.

State of play: DC Health posts weekly case counts on Wednesdays. The agency did not respond to Axios' questions about these data reporting changes.

Zoom out: Arlington County, Fairfax County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County public schools also keep a school-by-school dashboard of case counts — with most counties reporting similarly low case counts over the past week.

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COVID cases are low in D.C. schools, but data reporting has changed

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