Valencia High School parents were alerted by school administrators Tuesday night that 33 positive COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed on the Vikings campus within the last week.
The cases, according to Dave Caldwell, a spokesman for the William S. Hart Union High School District, are among both students and staff, but are primarily within the school’s cheerleading team.
In an email distributed to families, Valencia Principal Pete Getz said that he wanted to clarify communication sent by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health regarding “increased cases at Valencia High School.”
“These cases were primarily within our cheerleading program, with a few identified in other groups on campus,” said the email from Getz. “Additionally, we have identified a considerable number of close contacts on the campus. It is important to remember that potential close contacts are not necessarily sick or at risk of transmitting disease.”
Due to the increased cases, Valencia High School has been identified as an outbreak facility, requiring the active involvement of county Public Health and integration of additional support resources, Getz added. “A team from LADPH met with school and district staff today and was complimentary on the mitigation strategies we have undertaken.”
A student will not be required to quarantine if they have no symptoms and they are fully vaccinated or they have recovered from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days.
“Once we have identified either a positive case or close contact, the staff at VHS will maintain open lines of communication with you and your family,” said Getz in the email. “If your student(s) must quarantine, we will provide specific information and directions to support the process.”
The school district and campus are following the control measures put in place by the Public Health Department’s “Protocol for Management of Outbreaks of COVID-19 in K-12 Schools.”
