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COVID-19

Local school districts report just a handful of COVID-19 cases, but county confirms 119 new cases Friday

As October begins, school districts throughout Spokane County are reporting relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases.

The Mead School District has six confirmed cases so far, with three of those connected to Mead High School. Seventy-four close contacts of the Mead High School cases are in quarantine as of Friday.

Central Valley School District has four confirmed cases across its schools, with about 20 close contacts in quarantine.

Spokane Public Schools plans to publish its COVID-19 cases dashboard on Monday.

As of Friday, the district has two confirmed cases, according to Sandra Jarrard, director of community relations for the district. The two cases are connected to Lidgerwood Elementary. Jarrard said families at the elementary have been sent letters about the cases.

The Spokane Regional Health District could not provide a firm case count for Spokane Public Schools on Friday, but Kelli Hawkins, public information officer at the district, said the district was not experiencing an outbreak that is causing concern.

Kindergartners are set to return to several school districts inperson next week.

Local universities continue to confirm virus cases, although not in alarming amounts. Gonzaga University is currently reporting 12 active cases in students living both on and off campus. Whitworth University reported seven active cases, predominantly in off-campus students, on Friday.

COVID-19 activity is not slowing down in Spokane County overall, though. The Spokane Regional Health District confirmed 119 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the second day in a row with more than 100 cases confirmed.

Countywide, two more residents have died due to COVID-19. The latest long-term care report from the Department of Health shows that 112 of the 171 deaths due to COVID-19 in Spokane County are connected to long-term care facilities.

There had been 692 cases connected to Spokane County long-term care facilities as of Sept. 29.

There are 32 patients receiving treatment in local hospitals, and 27 of them are county residents. The local incidence rate in Spokane County, which initially dropped after the summer peak, is climbing. According to the most recent state data available, Spokane County has an incidence rate of 173 cases per 100,000 residents.

The Panhandle Health District confirmed 19 new cases on Friday, as well as three more deaths due to the virus. There are 25 Panhandle residents hospitalized with the virus currently.

Arielle Dreher's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is primarily funded by the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, with additional support from Report for America and members of the Spokane community. These stories can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper’s managing editor.