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Manteca Unified COVID cases hit record with 185
Brown school teaching COVID
While Turlock Unified School District elementary students just recently returned to in-class instruction like at Brown School with 4th grade teacher Chelsea Alton as pictured above, three other elementary campuses (Julien, Cunningham and Crowell) have had to send students home through Dec. 18 due to staff testing positive for COVID-19 (Photo contributed).

Manteca Unified COVID-19 cases have soared with 185 confirmed cases as of Thursday.

The number of faculty and support staff with COVID was at 76. That’s higher than the previous combined peak of 68 for both students and staff reached three months ago.

“The system is absolutely strained,” said Victoria Brunn, Manteca Unified School District community outreach director.

Brunn noted all classes are being covered as every available credentialed staff member that is healthy is being used to teach as well as substitutes. That includes teachers on special assignment outside the classroom working on targeted programs to administrators.

The district is hoping the three-day weekend will help slow the spread.

And while Manteca Unified is prepared for all contingencies they are working to avoid the need of altering classroom teaching.

More than half of the 109 students with COVID are high school students. Topping the list with 17 cases is Sierra followed by Lathrop with 14, East Union with 13, Manteca with 8, and Weston Ranch with 5.

Brunn expects next Thursday’s COVID-19 dashboard update regarding the district’s 26,000 plus students and teachers to be higher.

If for no other reason free COVID home tests have been distributed to students. That means students that do not show symptoms or have been exposed to someone with a confirmed case and wouldn’t otherwise be tested could possibly test positive.

 

623 test positive for

COVID in Manteca

Another 103 people tested positive for COVID Thursday and Friday Manteca to bring the total new cases for COVID to 623 in the past seven days.

Forty-four tested positive in Lathrop in the last two days to bring that community’s total to 336 in the past week. Ripon added 22 for a total pf 107 last Friday.

Tracy in the past two days has added 196 new cases to bring their seven-day total to 1,155.

Two more people have died since Wednesday in Manteca to bring the local loss to 183. Deaths in Lathrop are at 33 and in Ripon at 29. There have been 116 deaths in Tracy.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com