Students are out of school as part of this year’s four-day week for regular classroom time, but the Polk School District will on Tuesday implement some safety measures on two campuses after several students have tested positive for COVID-19 with the new year started back.

Per the District’s Facebook page this morning, some 37 cases among students and staff at the 11 campuses within the PSD have been reported after the first week back to classes. Eight cases each at Northside and Van Wert Elementary schools were reported, thus triggering the requirement for the preventative measures to go back into place.

However, because the two schools have reached a 1% milestone of positivity rate, the district is planning to take precautions and return to certain mitigation efforts, like cutting off the use of water fountains and controlling hallway distancing efforts to prevent the spread of the virus from one classroom to another.

Additionally, the district is keeping daily track of the positivity rate for each school and is putting that information online for the public to access.

“While our overall numbers remain low, we want to be vigilant and responsive to this ever-evolving situation,” the district posted online.

Superintendent Dr. Katie Thomas said that the district continues to respond to the situation around the latest COVID-19 outbreak with a proactive stance.

Masks are strongly encouraged for students at Northside and Van Wert Elmentary Schools at this time, and are required for educators and staff who are unvaccinated.

“Schools will remain in the preventive state of caution until the positivity rate drops below 1%,” the PSD reported.

That will be assessed weekly on Fridays.

Check back for more on the latest COVID-19 numbers later this evening.