Even More Major COVID Outbreaks at Boulder Schools Revealed Weeks Late

The latest COVID-19 outbreak report mirrors Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment statistics from earlier in the week that revealed historic lows in both COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Case counts haven't been at similar levels since the first two weeks of the pandemic, in March 2020; the hospitalization rates were last this low in June of that year.

Outbreaks are falling, too, if not quite as quickly: On March 9, the state health department counted 982 under active investigation, down from 1,130 a week earlier.

Of the new outbreaks, over half are belated reports from the Boulder area. Last week's outbreaks roster included a stunning fifty incidents of spread at K-12 schools and child-care centers in Boulder County that began early this year but hadn't previously been included — and more of these surprising additions dominate the latest CDPHE outbreaks update. Twenty-two of the 36 new or tweaked outbreaks involve K-12 schools or child-care centers in Boulder County, and they range from sizable to very large. Meadowlark School in Erie, for example, has tallied 108 cases — eight among staffers and 100 among attendees.

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.

The 36 new or tweaked outbreaks on March 9 represent fewer than half of the 76 reported on March 2. Subtracting the 22 Boulder County outbreaks leaves only fourteen for the rest of the state — and just six of them (three health-care centers, two K-12 schools and a child-care center) have a start date in March.

In contrast, the latest batch of Boulder County outbreaks, which pertain to fifteen child-care centers and seven K-12 schools, are all said to have gotten underway in either January or February.

According to Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Angela Simental, most of the outbreaks at schools and child-care centers in the jurisdiction dated from the week of January 4-11. "CDPHE is requiring us to retroactively report these outbreaks," she said last week 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 added: "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 last week 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."

Given the most recent slew of outbreak revelations, perhaps another letter might be in order.

Here are the 36 new or tweaked active outbreaks identified by the CDPHE on March 9, along with the date when the outbreak was cited and the people impacted:

1. Adventure Montessori Learning, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/26/2022, 2 staff cases, 10 attendee cases
2. Alaya Preschool, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/24/2022, 4 staff cases, 9 attendee cases
3. Ayres Elementary, School, K-12, Logan County, 2/16/2022, 6 attendee cases
4. Bloom! Montessori School, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/18/2022, 9 attendee cases
5. Bright Horizons — Louisville, Child Care Center, 1/15/2022, 4 staff cases, 7 attendee cases
6. Central Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 20 attendee cases
7. Denver Athletic Club, Indoor Entertainment/Rec, Denver County, 11/10/2021, 16 staff cases
8. Eagle Crest Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 1 staff case, 40 attendee cases
9. Evenings Porch LLC (23I527): February 2022, Healthcare, Skilled Nursing, La Plata County, 2/22/2022, 1 resident case, 1 staff case
10. Exploring Minds Academy: February 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/7/2022, 2 staff cases, 6 attendee cases
11. Fall River Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 1/10/2022, 31 attendee cases
12. Flagstaff Charter Academy, School, K-12, Boulder County, 1/6/2022, 43 attendee cases
13. Foothill Preschool, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/16/2022, 1 staff case, 4 attendee cases
14. Forest Park Montessori School, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/17/2022, 2 staff cases, 6 attendee cases
15. Gabriel Assisted Living (23L573), Healthcare, Assisted Living, Arapahoe County, 3/9/2022, 2 staff cases
16. Home Daycare #2 — Longmont, Child Care Center, Home Daycare, Boulder County, 12/7/2021, 2 staff cases, 3 attendee cases
17. Homestar Children's Center: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/24/2022, 1 staff case, 7 attendee cases
18. Jarrow Montessori School: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/31/2022, 5 attendee cases
19. Kaiser Permanente Franklin Medical Offices: December 2021, Healthcare, Outpatient, Denver County, 2/22/2022, 8 staff cases
20. Mapleton Early Childhood Center: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 2/28/2022, 3 staff cases, 32 attendee cases
21. Maxwell Center Assisted Living Residence (23V723): March 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Weld County, 3/2/2022, 1 resident case, 2 staff cases
22. Meadowlark School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/7/2022, 8 staff cases, 100 attendee cases
23. Mt. View Preschool, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/19/2022, 5 attendee cases
24. Nightingale Lane (2304XO): February 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Jefferson County, 3/4/2022, 11 resident cases, 1 staff case
25. Niwot Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 2/17/2022, 21 attendee cases
26. Northridge Elementary School, School, K-12, Boulder County, 1/5/2022, 35 attendee cases
27. Phillips Early Childhood Center at Boulder JCC: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/24/2022, 3 staff cases, 15 attendee cases
28. Primrose School of Longmont: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/25/2022, 5 staff cases, 9 attendee cases
29. Southside Children's Center— Prairie: February 2022, Child Care Center, Pueblo County, 3/3/2022, 4 staff cases, 2 attendee cases
30. Take-A-Break Children, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/7/2022, 5 staff cases, 5 attendee cases
31. Taylor Elementary School, School, K-12, Mesa County, 3/3/2022, 8 attendee cases
32. The Acorn School for Early Childhood Development: January 2022, Child Care Center, Boulder County, 1/14/2022, 3 staff cases, 8 attendee cases
33. The Home Depot #1552, Retailer, Weld County, 1/27/2022, 7 staff cases
34. The Joneses Assisted Living (2303A1), Healthcare, Assisted Living, Larimer County, 2/22/2022, 1 resident case, 1 staff case
35. Trinidad Middle School, School, K-12, Las Animas County, 3/1/2022, 3 staff cases, 24 attendee cases
36. Vista View Group Home (051110), Healthcare, Group Home, Montrose County, 2/28/2022, 1 resident case, 3 staff cases