Massive COVID Outbreaks at Boulder Schools Revealed Weeks Late

Fifty of the new outbreaks are in Boulder County.

March 3, 2022

Image: Boulder High School has been named a COVID-19 outbreak site as a result of more than 200 combined staff and student cases.

Boulder High School has been named a COVID-19 outbreak site as a result of more than 200 combined staff and student cases. Google Maps

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The latest report on COVID-19 outbreaks from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is among the most unusual since the agency started sharing the data in April 2020. Of the 76 new or tweaked outbreaks listed on the agency's March 2 statewide update, fifty pertain to Boulder County — and all of them involve either K-12 schools or child-care centers.

These outbreaks range from sizable to massive. For instance, Boulder High School is linked to more than 200 positive cases.

Another oddity: The overwhelming majority of the Boulder outbreak listings refer to a single day, February 17. However, a spokesperson for Boulder County Public Health says that many of them actually date back further, to early January, and insists that most of the spread has already run its course, even though all of the outbreaks remain under active investigation by the CDPHE. But Boulder County Public Health offered no explanation for why it took so long for this information to show up on the state health department's roster.

During the first year of the pandemic, state health officials declared an outbreak if two or more COVID-19 cases among residents, staffers, attendees and others were tied to a particular setting within a fourteen-day period. Now this standard only applies to health-care or correctional facilities; an outbreak anywhere else requires at least five confirmed or probable cases over two weeks.

CDPHE counts involving cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been falling in recent weeks, and outbreaks were expected to follow suit. The 76 new or tweaked items on March 2 represent an increase from the 61 that popped up on the February 23 roster — but only 26 outbreaks beyond Boulder made the latest cut.

Right now, 1,130 outbreaks are considered active, compared to 1,242 a week ago. Of the 76 new entries on the list, 36 had experienced at least one prior outbreak.

Only 21 K-12 schools were added to the February 23 outbreaks survey. That number rose to 51 on March 2, and forty of the sites are located in Boulder County. Five of the Boulder schools are said to have case counts of between 50 and 100, including Boulder Universal (57 attendee cases), Superior Elementary School (9 staff cases, 50 attendee cases), Eldorado K-8 School (6 staff cases, 55 attendee cases), Silver Creek High School (one staff case, 77 attendee cases) and Monarch K-8 School (22 staff cases, 71 attendee cases). Two others came in at between 100 and 200 cases: Columbine Elementary School (18 staff cases, 86 attendee cases) and Fairview High School (24 staff cases, 125 attendee cases). And Boulder High School registered 21 staff cases and 198 attendee cases.

Outbreaks at child-care centers are down to 11 from 14 in the February 23 roundup; ten are in Boulder.

All told, the newly listed outbreaks cite more than 1,000 staffers and attendees at Boulder K-12 schools and child-care centers testing positive for COVID. But no health-care facilities from Boulder County are among the 11 new or tweaked health-care entries on the March 2 list.

Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Angela Simental portrays the rash of Boulder outbreaks at schools and child-care centers as entries in the historical record of the pandemic — and specifically for the January 4-11 period. "CDPHE is requiring us to retroactively report these outbreaks," she states before stressing, "These are not current outbreaks, especially in the early childhood education area, which are from December to early February, and the majority haven’t had any cases for four to six weeks."

Simental adds: "The sheer volume of outbreaks is a reflection of our team’s dedication to retroactively reviewing our case data from the height of the Omicron surge and assessing the volume of facilities that met the outbreak definition at any given point during the last three months."

The dozens of Boulder-area outbreaks shared by the CDPHE on March 2 prompted Boulder County Public Health to send a letter to schools and families putting the numbers in perspective. "Due to the nature of the outbreaks referenced here and in the March 2 updates, BCPH is not requiring any additional mitigation measures for the outbreaks in question," an excerpt reads. "BCPH will continue to work closely with schools to monitor outbreaks and determine if any additional support and resources are needed."

Here are the 76 new or tweaked active outbreaks identified by the CDPHE on March 2, along with the date when the outbreak was cited and the people impacted:

1. Advanced Health Care of Aurora (02D982): February 2022, Healthcare, Skilled Nursing, Arapahoe County, 3/1/2022, 4 staff cases
2. Altona Middle School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 44 attendee cases
3. Arapahoe Ridge High School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/23/2022, 3 staff cases, 6 attendee cases
4. Back to Basics Child Care Center, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/21/2022, 3 staff cases, 2 attendee cases
5. Bear Creek Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/23/2022, 27 attendee cases
6. Bethesda Gardens Loveland (23F492): January 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Larimer County, 1/7/2022, 5 staff cases, 20 attendee cases
7. Blue Mountain Elementary, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 39 attendee cases
8. Boulder Community School/Integrated Studies, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/23/2022, 28 attendee cases
9. Boulder County Head Start — The Dagny School, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 4 staff cases, 3 attendee cases
10. Boulder High School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/23/2022, 21 staff cases, 198 attendee cases
11. Boulder Journey School, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 8 staff cases, 14 attendee cases
12. Boulder Universal, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/23/2022, 57 attendee cases
13. Caley Ridge Assisted Living Community (230487): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Arapahoe County, 2/24/2022, 16 resident cases, 1 staff cases
14. Chateau at Sharmar Village (2306N1): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Pueblo County, 2/25/2022, 5 resident cases
15. Children's Kiva Montessori School: January 2022, School, K-12, Montezuma County, 2/28/2022, 2 staff cases, 17 attendee cases
16. City of Fort Collins Transfort Maintenance, Municipal/Local Government, Larimer County, 10 staff cases
17. Coal Creek Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 7 staff cases, 20 attendee cases
18. Collegiate Academy of Colorado: January 2022, School, K-12, Jefferson County, 3/1/2022, 9 attendee cases
19. Colorado State Penitentiary: December 2021, State Prison, Fremont County, 1/5/2022, 197 resident cases, 28 staff cases
20. Columbine Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 18 staff cases, 86 attendee cases
21. Community Montessori School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 4 staff cases, 18 attendee cases
22. Creekside Elementary School at Martin Park, School, K-12, Boulder County, 3/1/2022, 7 staff cases, 36 attendee cases
23. Douglass Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 9 staff cases, 22 attendee cases
24. Eaton Middle School, School, K-12, Weld County, 2/18/2022, 1 staff case, 28 attendee cases
25. Eldorado K-8 School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 6 staff cases, 55 attendee cases
26. Explorer Elementary School: January 2022, School, K-12, El Paso County, 2/8/2022, 4 staff cases, 4 attendee cases
27. Fairview High School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 24 staff cases, 125 attendee cases
28. Fireside Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 8 staff cases, 35 attendee cases
29. Flatirons Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 10 attendee cases
30. Foothill Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 35 attendee cases
31. Friday Health Plans: January 2022, Office/Indoor Workspace, Alamosa County, 1/11/2022, 9 staff cases
32. Fruitvale Elementary School: February 2022, School, K-12, Mesa County, 3/1/2022, 1 staff case, 6 attendee cases
33. Grand Junction Regional Center — House 11: February 2022, Healthcare, Facility for Developmentally Disabled (Inpatient), Mesa County, 2/23/2022, 2 staff cases
34. Heart and Hands Montessori, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 3/1/2022, 2 staff cases, 4 attendee cases
35. Heatherwood Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 10 attendee cases
36. Kavod Senior Life (230445): January 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Denver County, 1/11/2022, 2 resident cases, 9 staff cases
37. Kemper Elementary School: February 2022, School, K-12, Montezuma County, 2/28/2022, 3 staff cases, 4 attendee cases
38. Kindercare Learning Center — Longmont: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 8 staff cases
39. Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary School: January 2022, School, K-12, Mesa County, 2/28/2022, 10 attendee cases
40. Longmont Estates Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 6 attendee cases
41. Louisville Middle School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/28/2022, 1 staff case, 39 attendee cases
42. Lyons Middle/Senior High School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 36 attendee cases
43. Manhattan Middle School of the Arts and Academics: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/28/2022, 4 staff cases, 20 attendee cases
44. Mesa View Elementary School: February 2022, School, K-12, Mesa County, 2/9/2022, 9 attendee cases
45. Monarch K-8 School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 22 staff cases, 71 attendee cases
46. Montrose County Jail, Jail, Montrose County, 2/23/2022, 12 resident cases
47. Mountain View Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 21 attendee cases
48. My Second Home Bilingual Nursery & School — Old Town: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 5 attendee cases
49. My Second Home Bilingual Nursery & School — Waneka, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/25/2022, 5 staff cases, 11 attendee cases
50. Nederland Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 27 attendee cases
51. Nederland Middle-Senior High School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 27 attendee cases
52. Nevin Platt Middle School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2./17/2022, 7 staff cases, 40 attendee cases
53. New Vista High School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 13 attendee cases
54. Peakview Assisted Living and Memory Care (23F490): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Arapahoe County, 2/23/2022, 3 resident cases
55. Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 22 attendee cases
56. Pomona Elementary School: January 2022, School, K-12, Mesa County, 2/28/2022, 1 staff case, 9 attendee cases
57. Primrose Place (23036C), Healthcare, Assisted Living, Larimer County, 2/22/2022, 11 resident cases, 1 staff case
58. Rockrimmon Elementary School, School, K-12, El Paso County, 1/24/2022, 1 staff case, 5 attendee cases
59. Sanborn Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 14 attendee cases
60. Serenity House Assisted Living — Hinsdale (23N222), Healthcare, Assisted Living, Araphaoe County, 7 resident cases, 2 staff cases
61. Serenity House Assisted Living — Kit Carson (23S213): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Arapahoe County, 2/24/2022, 6 resident cases, 3 staff cases
62. Silver Creek High School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 77 attendee cases
63. Skyline High School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 37 attendee cases
64. Snow Lion School, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 5 attendee cases
65. Southern Hills Middle School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 8 staff cases, 32 attendee cases
66. St. Vrain Community Montessori School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 50 attendee cases
67. Superior Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 9 staff cases, 50 attendee cases
68. The Haven (2308Z8): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Routt County, 2/7/2022, 2 resident cases, 1 staff case
69. The Learning Experience — Lafayette: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 6 attendee cases
70. Thunder Mountain Elementary School: February 2022, School, K-12, Mesa County, 2/28/2022, 8 attendee cases
71. Timberline PK-8, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 20 attendee cases
72. TLC Learning Center: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 5 staff cases, 17 attendee cases
73. Trail Ridge Middle School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 23 attendee cases
74. Twin Peaks Charter Academy: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 31 attendee cases
75. University Hill Elementary School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 15 staff cases, 33 attendee cases
76. Westview Middle School: January 2022, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 37 attendee cases

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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