6,500 LA students missed school in first week due to coronavirus cases: report

There are 6,500 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District who had to miss school in the first week of classes due to the coronavirus, according to data that was released after a request from the Los Angeles Times.

District-wide there was 87.5 percent of individuals in attendance as of Aug. 19, with 3,000 students in isolation due to a positive COVID-19 test during the first week of school, which started on Aug. 16.

An additional 3,500 students were in quarantine during the first week due to close contact with someone who had the coronavirus.

There were 1,000 employees out of 60,000 who had to miss one day of the first week of school due to a positive COVID-19 test or close contact with someone who had the infection. 

The school district has been testing students and says it does not believe anyone has been infected while in class, according to the Times. 

The school district is requiring students to wear masks at all times and to social distance, and it has increased its quality of air filters.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has been struggling with its online learning option as some individuals who opted for it “are not seeing live instruction yet,” according to Chief of Schools David Baca.

Only a small minority of students chose the online option, with 97 percent of individuals attending in-person classes.

Thousands of students across the country had to isolate themselves after the first week of class as the spike in delta variant cases is impeding the beginning of the school year. 

The spike in cases is occurring while debate rages about mask mandates for children in school, with some Republican governors blocking schools from requiring masks.