10% positivity rate delays first day of in-person learning at unified schools in La Cañada – CBS Los Angeles | Local News

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE (CBSLA) – Return to campus after winter break was delayed at schools in La Cañada Flintridge after Monday’s district test results returned with a 10% positivity rate.

La Cañada Unified’s board of directors held an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening after learning about the “shocking” positivity rate of 10% – 140 positive test results out of 1,565 tests, according to the district. In addition, 130 more test results are pending and 38 staff members have also tested positive.

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Classes were scheduled to resume Wednesday at schools in La Cañada, but with the increase in positive cases among students, the school board voted to postpone in-person learning for another day and require a negative COVID-19 test for that students and staff return to campus on Thursday.

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Testing continued at all school sites in the district on Tuesday, and officials say they have run out of testing supplies. The state, however, is sending tests to school districts, and La Cañada Unified says it hopes to receive a delivery of 5,000 tests by Wednesday morning.

Much of the extreme increase in positive COVID cases has been blamed on the Omicron variant, which has been found to be much more contagious even among people who have been fully vaccinated and received boosters. Omicron’s spread unfortunately came to fruition with widespread vacation travel and gatherings, leading to a surge in demand for testing across the region so people can return to work and school. .

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La Cañada isn’t the only southern California school district scrambling to respond to a spike in positive tests. Malibu middle and high schools instituted distance education on Tuesday rather than returning to campuses after Sunday’s tests detected 20 positive cases.