City To Start Posting Melrose Public Schools Coronavirus Data

MELROSE, MA — The city will begin updating people on coronavirus numbers inside Melrose Public Schools, a number that could differ greatly from the state's reporting.

Students and staff who have confirmed positive cases will be included in the city COVID-19 dashboard, Health Director Ruth Clay told the Board of Health Tuesday.

Student cases will be categorized as those who are in a hybrid or remote learning model. That's a change from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education numbers, which only report students who are in-person and have been in class at some point in the past seven days. (In a district like Melrose, hybrid students have 9 days in between in-person learning.)

DESE has reported so far two students who have tested positive for the virus, though Superintendent Julie Kukenberger told Patch it was actually one student who was mistakenly reported twice.

But the city has actually seen "six or seven" students test positive this month, Clay said.

The city's numbers will only be for Melrose Public Schools, not for Melrose students in charter, private or vocational schools.

Clay reiterated what state education officials have been saying of late: Schools have not been found to be superspreaders.

"The data is showing that schools are probably the safest place for kids to be to right now," Clay said.

Also in the meeting ...

• Clay said there have been a total of 376 confirmed coronavirus cases in Melrose. There were 364 in last week's case count, which was 14 more than the previous week. "We're yellow and I anticipate staying yellow," Clay said.
• Two public hearings were scheduled for businesses that received fines for not wearing masks: Theo's Pizzeria and Fitness Together. The gym's was rescheduled to next week.
• The family flu clinic last week served more than 320 people.