A total of 3,021 students and staff members at Massachusetts schools tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week.
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the numbers Friday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 2,640 students and 381 employees tested positive between Nov. 4 and Nov. 10.
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The weekly report covers a timeframe of Thursday to Wednesday. The report was delayed by one day due to the Veterans Day holiday.
In last week's report, 1,879 students and 339 employees tested positive for a total of 2,218.
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The student cases represent 0.29% of the estimated 920,000 students enrolled in K-12 schools. DESE said 0.27% of the roughly 140,000 staff members tested positive in the last week.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases reported by the DESE takes into account school districts (including charter schools), collaboratives, and approved special education schools. The data only represents what has been reported to the state.
The state had stopped publicly reporting the school data in mid-June as school was winding down and cases were dropping. The June 16 report included only 53 new cases in students and 5 among school staff.
After a 2019-2020 school year marked by periods of remote instruction, districts across Massachusetts are now back to full-time in-person learning.
As of last week, students age 5 and up can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Massachusetts' school mask mandate has been extended until Jan. 15, 2022, with Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley saying schools can apply to lift their mandates if 80% of students and staff are vaccinated.
Hopkinton High School, which has surpassed the 80% threshold, received state approval to lift its mask mandate. Several schools, including Andover and Lynnfield, have seen concerning spikes in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks but have remained open.
The Curley School, a K-8 school in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood, chose to close altogether after an outbreak earlier this week.
