No Schools In Harford County Have COVID-19 Outbreaks: Officials

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Coronavirus outbreaks have not been reported in any schools in Harford County, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Every Wednesday, the state health department releases a list of K-12 schools with outbreaks of COVID-19.

To be reported in the list, a school must have a classroom/cohort outbreak or a school-wide outbreak, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Harford County Public Schools Supervisor of Health Services Mary Nasuta said at the Harford County Board of Education's meeting Monday night that one classroom had been included in last week's list.

In the Feb. 23 report on COVID-19 in Maryland schools, state health officials said Harford Technical High School had seven cases, and private school St. Joan of Arc in Aberdeen had five cases. A classroom/cohort outbreak is defined as at least three confirmed cases of COVID-19 within 14 days that are epidemiologically linked, and are not household contacts.

"There are presently no school wide outbreaks," Nasuta said Monday. A schoolwide outbreak is defined as at least three classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households in 14 days; or 5 percent of unrelated students, teachers or staff (at least 10 who are unrelated) having tested positive for COVID-19 within a two-week period.

Schools are removed from the list maintained by the Maryland Department of Health when 14 days have passed without any new cases or tests pending.

In alignment with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Harford County Board of Education that night made masks optional in schools as of March 1.

No schools have COVID-19 outbreaks in Harford County as of March 2, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

While state data is updated every other week, the HCPS COVID-19 dashboard provides data by school on a rolling basis.

This shows the following case information from the past week, according to Harford County Public Schools:

Related:

• CDC Updates COVID Mask Guidelines: What It Means In Maryland
• Harford County School Board Makes Mask Decision