COVID cases soaring on Tiburon Peninsula, among youth

Some 63 students and 13 staff members tested positive for COVID-19 last week as Reed Union district schools reopened from winter break amid a global surge of the omicron variant.

The figures, reported on the first day of school Jan. 4 and updated Jan. 7, came as Marin set new single-day case records and local health officials estimated roughly one in 30 residents have active infections. However, they say low hospitalization rates will continue to drive public policy, as state and local officials extended universal indoor-masking mandates through Feb. 15.

Ahead of the winter break, the county’s health department and Office of Education distributed test kits provided by the state to public, private and parochial schools for students and staff to use the day before their return, an effort to keep sick people home and prevent spread in classrooms. About 48,000 people received tests — 40,000 students and 8,000 staff — with 31,000 test results returned by Jan. 5. About 900 results were positive, a sample that means about one in 30 Marin residents has an active COVID-19 infection, health officials say.

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