From the Humboldt County Office of Education:

Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools, Michael Davies-Hughes made the following statement today, responding to local media inquiries about increased COVID-19 instances in local public schools:

“I can confirm that since Monday of this week, several schools in the county have reported an uptick in the number of students and staff either testing positive or being quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19-infected persons. This is having an impact on student attendance rates and staffing. The Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) began distributing thousands of rapid tests for students beginning last Thursday, December 30th.

“California Department of Public Health (CDPH) provided us with enough tests for every student in Humboldt County. We do not have information about students or staff who tested positive for COVID-19. Individual school districts have their information about how many students and staff are out sick. If a family states that they or their student is positive, they are encouraged to report that information to Humboldt County Public Health.

“Directions to report positive cases were distributed with the home test kits distributed by HCOE. If a student or staff member tests positive at a school site, the result is reported to Public Health by the school; as are exposures on a school campus.

“We continue to work very closely with Humboldt County Public Health to provide ongoing guidance and support to local school districts regarding COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies. We are currently developing an updated flowchart for school leaders to use, based on updated CDPH guidance.

“Staffing shortages are a very real and concerning reality. In school districts across the state, it’s a case of ‘all hands on deck’ with administrators and itinerant teachers being pulled-in to teach classes when substitute teachers are not available. I continue to be very proud of our educational community in doing ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure that students can safely attend school for in-person instruction”