Five positive COVID-19 tests reported for Roosevelt County school employees

SANTA FE — Five positive COVID-19 cases in Roosevelt County schools were among seven reported Thursday by the New Mexico Public Education Department.

The PED began daily updates of positive tests earlier this week, and reported one case on Wednesday.

According to the Thursday update, the infected individuals are staff members, including two teachers. The individuals were last in the school building or a district office Sept. 9, Friday and Monday. The report does not identify which district or districts had the infections.

The other positive tests listed Thursday were a teacher in McKinley County and a student in Bernalillo County.

In each case, the PED said, staff members and the parents and guardians of all students in the affected buildings have been notified of the positive cases.

Affected classrooms and school facilities will be thoroughly disinfected, and any staff or students who came into close contact with a newly diagnosed individual will be quarantined for 14 days. Close contact is defined as being within six feet for three minutes or more. Staff who were close contacts must get tested for COVID-19 and provide the school with test results prior to returning to in-person duties.

Since collecting data Aug. 17, the state has recorded 118 positive COVID-19 cases in school populations.