COVID cases confirmed in Portland, Lake Oswego schools

PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) -- School officials in both Portland and Lake Oswego confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at schools in their districts.

Officials at Markham Elementary School announced in a letter to staff and families Monday that someone at the school has tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Ann M Loeffler, deputy health officer for Multnomah County said risk of transmission among kids and from kids to adults is low.

"Everything that happens in schools in terms of COVID-19 reflects what's going on in the community and of course so kids are going to come to school with the infection and some teachers are going to come to school with the infection but the good news is that schools have been really ramping up to do this very carefully the likelihood of picking up in school has become very very uncommon," she said.

School officials said they are working with the Multnomah County Health Department and transitioning anyone who was potentially exposed to distance learning.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a separate notification to all exposed cohorts and asking them to quarantine at home for 10-14 days to watch for any symptoms," the letter stated. "This may impact students and staff in the exposed classroom cohorts, bus routes, and activity/athletic groups."

Loeffler said that if someone does develop symptoms, they should stay home longer.

A spokesperson for the Lake Oswego School District told KOIN 6 News there were "made aware of two cases of COVID-19 at Lakeridge High School, and one case at Lake Oswego High School. All cases were contracted outside of school."

The district is working with Clackamas County health authorities to conduct contract tracing and initiate any necessary quarantine.

"Every month we are going to learn more and more and we are going to make it safer and safer and we are excited to have kids back in school when it's the right place for them," Loeffler said.

Overall, Loeffler said that schools in Oregon are safe provided districts follow virus mitigation measures.