COVID-19 Clusters Spike In NC Schools, Sports Teams: DHHS

NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina public health officials are renewing a call for children 12 years old and older to get vaccinated as the number of COVID-19 clusters in K-12 schools continues to rise around the state.

Public health officials consider a COVID-19 cluster as at least five confirmed cases of coronavirus with plausible epidemiologic linkage.

As of Sept. 7, there were 96 clusters reported in K-12 schools in North Carolina, and 3,357 confirmed cases in K-12 students, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

School sports teams account for nearly half of the COVID-19 clusters reported in middle and high schools, DHHS said Wednesday.

"Between July 1 and Sept. 2 there have been at least 42 athletics-related clusters in North Carolina public, charter and private middle and high schools, with a sharp increase in August coinciding with the start of the school year. Only four athletics clusters occurred in July," DHHS said.

The news comes children account for nearly a third of the state's new COVID-19 cases. As of Sept. 4, children under 17 represented 31 percent of new cases, the highest percentage since the pandemic began, DHHS said.

"We need everyone, including our student athletes and their coaches, to increase layers of prevention to fight this more contagious Delta variant: Don’t wait to vaccinate and urge others to do the same," NCDHHS Chief Medical Officer and State Health Director Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, said Wednesday in a statement. "Tested, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are the best tool for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Student athletes who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine after a close contact with someone with COVID-19."

DHHS recommends the following for sports programs:

• Wear face masks indoors
• Practice social distancing when possible
• Disinfect equipment frequently
• Avoid sharing water bottles
• Consider working out, including weight training, in groups or pods to limit exposure should someone become sick.

More information and recommendations may be found in NCDHHS’ Interim Guidance for Administrators and Participants of Youth and Amateur Sports Programs.