COVID-19 Update

Case Numbers Update 

At St. John: The school continues to see some positive COVID cases, although this week overall numbers have continued to decrease. There have been no further case clusters and therefore masking requirements ended this week. The school will continue to track positive cases closely and will communicate as needed if additional clusters of cases present that would require a return to masking for any cohort(s). 

Despite the decreasing case counts at school, COVID-19 is still here in our community, and case rates continue to increase in King County. We are providing this information as a reminder for our community to stay strong with your mitigation measures. There are many upcoming school events we want students to be able to attend (3rd-5th Spring Concert, 8th-grade field trip and graduation, intermediate field day, end-of-year BBQ, etc.).  

  • Keep testing your students and families – we have an abundant supply of rapid tests available in the main office.  
  • Continue to monitor students for symptoms (and keep students home who are ill) and mask as appropriate to limit spread and lower our individual and community risk. 
  • Please see this new blog post from Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC): With Covid Rates High, What Parents Need To Know About Masking And Testing 

The Covid Response Team continues to track positive cases and communicate with families of positive students. Positive cases in our community have largely occurred through community or household spread (parents/siblings, weekend gatherings, events outside of school) rather than classroom spread. The school remains committed to our mitigation strategies. Data on cases, broken down by grade-level and homeroom, is available here. 

COVID Weekly Data Dashboard (5/19-5/26)  

  • Students Tested Positive (grades PreK-8): 5 
  • Staff (School and XDC) Tested Positive: 2 

In King County: King County continues to be in the “Medium Transmission” level (over 200 new cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period), and case rates continue to increase. As of 5/21/22, case rates were 375/100k (compared to 346/100k the previous week).   

Boosters Now Available for Children Ages 5-11 

Booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are now available for children ages 5-11 following guidance and recommendations by the FDA and CDC last week. Children ages 5-11 should receive a booster dose 5 months after completing their primary vaccine series. Immunocompromised children should receive a booster at least 3 months after their primary series. To find a booster appointment, visit Vaccine Locator.  

Looking Ahead to Fall 2022 

COVID-19 is here to stay. Future changes to the DOH K-12 guidance for the 2022-23 school year, or a timeline of potential shifts or changes, will be communicated to the school in July and/or early August. The school will share this information once it is received. The school will continue to follow guidance from the Department of Health (DOH) and PHSKC.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the health and safety of our St. John community! Contact covidresponse@st-johnschool.org if you have further questions.