Laguna Beach Unified School District provides update on COVID-19 and school reopening

Laguna Beach Unified School District officials provided an update on the coronavirus-impacted school year during the district’s board of education meeting Thursday night.

Students attending secondary school in the district have remained in distance learning throughout the school year. The district had targeted a reopening date during the week of Thanksgiving.

When Orange County received a purple tier designation on Nov. 16, it delayed the return of students to the district’s secondary school campuses of Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School.

District Supt. Jason Viloria said during a presentation at the meeting that current guidelines state the county would have to be in the red tier for a period of five consecutive days for secondary schools to reopen.

“We were ready in November, so we’re ready now, and we’ll continue to do what we need to do to ensure it’s a safe place for students,” Viloria said.

Orange County currently has seven-day averages of 29.7 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, a testing positivity rate of 9.4%, and a health equity quartile positivity rate of 12.4%. Those numbers come with a seven-day lag.

The county would have to show an adjusted daily case rate average between four and seven cases per 100,000 residents, a testing positivity rate of 5% to 8%, and a health equity quartile of 5.3% to 8% to advance to the red tier.

The district has been providing voluntary testing for the virus. Over four testing opportunities for students, there have been 1,198 tests administered with a total of 25 positive tests, data presented by Assistant Supt. Michael Conlon showed. The next testing opportunity for students in the district will be Feb. 23.

There have been seven testing opportunities for district staff, resulting in 908 tests being administered with a five positive tests reported.

Board clerk Kelly Osborne asked how student participation in the optional testing could be increased. Conlon said the district is exploring the possibility of providing a saliva test in addition to offering PCR swabs.

High school sports have returned to a point, dependent on their tier designation. The only fall sport under the CIF’s revised two-season schedule that can currently hold contests in the most restrictive, purple tier is cross-country, while other sports can hold modified workouts.

Board member Dee Perry inquired about whether students involved in the arts could also be brought back to school. Viloria indicated that opportunities for related electives, after-school programs and extracurricular activities need to be considered in preparation for a return to the red tier. He said sports is a separate issue because of the existence of youth sports guidance.

“We can do sports simply because there’s sports guidance that allows us to do youth sports,” Viloria said. “That’s a separate set of guidance that we’re following and adhering to.”

The Orange County Health Care Agency reported 42 more deaths due to the coronavirus and 779 additional cases on Thursday in its most recent release of data concerning transmission of the virus. An update was not issued Friday.

Through Thursday, the death toll in the county because of the pandemic had reached 3,493, with the cumulative case count at 240,999.

Hospitalizations resulting from contracting the virus were at 965, with 298 COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care units.

Here are the latest cumulative coronavirus case counts and COVID-19 deaths for select cities in Orange County (through Feb. 11):

• Santa Ana: 43,289 cases; 615 deaths
• Anaheim: 40,152 cases; 640 deaths
• Huntington Beach: 9,918 cases; 164 deaths
• Costa Mesa: 8,452 cases; 95 deaths
• Irvine: 9,769 cases; 59 deaths
• Newport Beach: 3,481 cases; 57 deaths
• Fountain Valley: 3,277 cases; 57 deaths
• Laguna Beach: 767 cases; fewer than five deaths

Here are the case counts by age group, followed by deaths:

• 0 to 17: 24,823 cases; one death
• 18 to 24: 33,327 cases; six deaths
• 25 to 34: 48,259 cases; 38 deaths
• 35 to 44: 37,661 cases; 79 deaths
• 45 to 54: 38,700 cases; 225 deaths
• 55 to 64: 30,304 cases; 470 deaths
• 65 to 74: 15,100 cases; 675 deaths
• 75 to 84: 7,581 cases; 845 deaths
• 85 and older: 5,094 cases; 1,154 deaths

Updated figures are posted daily at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc. Information on COVID-19 vaccines in Orange County can be found at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-vaccine-resources.

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