Durham private school has 26 COVID-19 cases. Other Triangle schools report clusters.
Four Triangle private schools are reporting new COVID-19 clusters, including a small Durham school that has more than two-dozen cases among students and staff.
Liberty Christian Academy in Durham reported 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 20 among students and 6 from staff, in the latest report on clusters at childcare centers and schools released by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
According to a state directory, Liberty had 183 students and 17 staff last school year. If the numbers are the same this school year, 35% of staff and 11% of students have tested positive for COVID-19 at the K-12 school.
Liberty has the most COVID-19 cases of any of the private or public schools reporting active COVID-19 clusters. A cluster occurs when 5 or more positive COVID-19 cases are reported at a school within a short period of time that can be plausibly linked.
Liberty Christian did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday from The News & Observer requesting comment. The school is affiliated with Liberty Baptist Church in Durham.
“This upcoming Sunday and Wednesday, we will be holding online services for our Liberty family and others who would like to tune in,” the school said in a Nov. 5 Facebook post. “With precautionary measures being taken at the school and several families in quarantine, we believe this is the best decision for now.”
The newest state report, released Tuesday, also lists:
▪ Bethesda Christian Academy in Durham with 8 cases (6 students, 2 staff).
▪ Raleigh Christian Academy with 7 cases (4 staff, 3 students).
▪ Wake Christian Academy in Raleigh with 6 cases (5 students, 1 staff).
Statewide, DHHS lists 522 COVID-19 cases at K-12 schools associated with 36 clusters. The state releases the COVID-19 school cluster report every Tuesday and Friday.
Private schools have more COVID cases
As is the case with past state reports, private schools see more and bigger COVD-19 clusters compared to public schools. Many private schools have been open since August with in-person instruction, while many North Carolina public schools have been phasing in the return of students.
State health officials say the return of K-12 public school students is not driving the increase in COVID-19 cases because children are less likely than adults to transmit the virus.
Private schools are not subject to the same state health rules that K-12 public schools must follow to have in-person classes. But many private schools say they’re taking safety measures such as requiring students and staff to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands regularly.
The new Triangle private school cases come at a time when coronavirus cases are spiking statewide and nationally.
Wake Christian also did not immediately return a voice mail message Wednesday from the N&O. Raleigh Christian was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
But Joey Johnson, the principal of Bethesda Christian, said it’s believed the school’s COVID-19 cases are the result of community spread. Before these new cases, Johnson said the school had only 1 COVID-19 case since the school year began Aug. 12.
“We had a few cases in our school,” Johnson said in an interview Wednesday with The News & Observer. “We’ve since sent our students home to decrease our student population to make sure it doesn’t spread any further.”
Johnson said Nov. 6 was the school’s last day of in-person classes while they use remote learning. He says they hope to resume face-to-face instruction Nov. 30.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Durham private school has 26 COVID-19 cases. Other Triangle schools report clusters.."
