NOLA-PS Provides Update on COVID-19 Impact in Schools: Apr. 11 - 15

(New Orleans – April 19, 2022) – The positive test rate of NOLA Public Schools' (NOLA-PS) districtwide testing program remains below 1%.

NOLA-PS' COVID Tracker reports the counts of COVID-19 cases identified in the Louisiana Department of Health's (LDH) COVID-19 data. These data include weekly case counts by school. The District will continue to update this information every Monday by 4 p.m. throughout the pandemic.

NOLA-PS is ahead of the curve with coronavirus testing, compared to many school districts across the country, thanks to a partnership with LDH to provide weekly surveillance testing to all students and school staff. As a result of this testing, the District will continue to provide a weekly update through its COVID Tracker of the number of COVID-19 tests completed in the previous week and the corresponding positive test rate. NOLA-PS continues to urge all students and staff to get tested weekly. Families can connect directly with their school regarding testing resources.

Working with its medical advisors, NOLA-PS continues to assess its safety guidelines based on the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). These updates can be viewed here.

For information on vaccination opportunities, please contact your school or visit www.nolapublicschools.com/vaccinations or www.ready.nola.gov for details on testing and vaccination sites.

This week's COVID Tracker provides an update for the week of Apr. 11 - 15.

The District is currently tracking 27 total cases of COVID-19 (22 staff; 5 students) among 10 schools in our school community. From Apr. 11 -15, NOLA-PS completed 10,951 COVID-19 tests with a positive test rate of 0.49 percent.

The NOLA PS COVID-19 Case Tracker provides the number of positive cases of COVID-19 as reported to the LDH for each school site from the previous week.

It is important to note the COVID Tracker information includes positive cases reported by any student or staff member, regardless of where they contracted COVID-19.

If you are looking for information on COVID cases across the District, see our COVID Tracker for the 2021-2022 school year. The tracker was restarted on Aug. 9, 2021.

NOLA-PS' goal continues to be to preserve in-person learning, safely and effectively. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, the LDH, and the New Orleans Health Department have analyzed the data, and all agree the best place for children to be is in the classroom. The benefits include developing social and emotional skills, access to healthy meals and activities, and access to mental health support that cannot be offered through virtual learning.

NOLA-PS' COVID-19 Case Tracker provides cumulative data of self-reported cases in our public schools since this reporting began on Sept. 21, 2020. Last school year's data is archived and available for viewing on our website.

To learn more about our quarantine and isolation process for the 2021-2022 school year, please refer to NOLA-PS' COVID Guidance for the details.

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.

For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.