Town, schools see November spike in COVID-19 cases
November saw a spike in COVID-19 cases in the Grafton Public Schools, and Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings is concerned they will only increase in the wake of Thanksgiving.
“When in doubt about sending your child in, err on the conservative side,” Cummings warned during Tuesday’s School Committee meeting,
The jump in cases mirrors last fall’s pandemic spread, when the combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and family celebrations caused Gov. Charlie Baker to roll back previously lifted precautions. But with more of the population now vaccinated against Covid, including school-age children, the hope is that the increase will be a much smaller blip.
No cases have been linked to in-school transmission.
The town of Grafton overall has seen a sharp increase of 50 cases since November 19, and a total of 1,597 cases since March 2020. In the entire month of November, the school has reported 57 positive cases, for a total of 124 cases since the start of the 2021-2022 school year.
The good news: more children are getting vaccinated. Cummings said the schools ran two clinics for both Covid and flu shots, and the district nurses are working with the state Department of Public Health to arrange more.
The most recent Grafton vaccination statistics shows that 75 percent of Grafton’s 12-15 year olds and 85 percent of 16-19 year olds are fully vaccinated, will 28 percent of 5-11 year olds have received one dose. Overall, 68 percent of the town’s population are fully vaccinated while 78 percent have had the first dose.
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