He thought his symptoms were an allergy: In California, an unvaccinated elementary school teacher infected a dozen students with the corona virus. But it did not stop.
In California, an unvaccinated teacher infected at least twelve out of 24 students in a class with the coronavirus. How, was it about the particularly contagious Delta variant of the corona virus. The incident took place last May. A primary school in Marin County, near San Francisco, was affected.
The teacher felt the first symptoms on May 19, a Wednesday, but initially thought of an allergy due to the symptoms – nasal congestion and tiredness. For the next two days she went to work as usual and gradually developed a cough, feverish sensation and headache. A corona test on May 21 was positive. It is not clear from the CDC report whether the teacher concerned was a man or a woman.
Children particularly often affected in the first row of chairs
At least twelve out of 22 students (55 percent) then tested positive for the coronavirus. Two children were not tested. All students were not vaccinated due to their age. The corona vaccines are only approved from the age of twelve.
Children who sat near the teacher were more likely to get infected. Eight out of ten children (80 percent) were infected in the first two rows of chairs. In the back three rows, the corona test only showed a positive test result in four of 14 students (28 percent).
26 corona cases
In school, it was actually mandatory to wear a mask. Surveys showed, however, that the teacher had taken off the mask every now and then – for example when she read aloud in class. The health authorities were able to link at least 14 other corona cases to the outbreak, including six in a neighboring class, four with siblings and four with parents. The number of detected infections rose to a total of 26. Fortunately, all those infected only developed mild symptoms. Nobody had to be treated in the hospital.
“The Delta variant spreads easily indoors when no masks are worn or people are not vaccinated,” said the report from the CDC, which investigated the outbreak and made it public. The case also shows how important it is for teachers to be vaccinated.
