With schools returning in-person, it was only a matter of time till students and teachers would test positive for COVID-19. Such an occurrence has struck the Irvine Unified School District days after returning. Two students out of the 22,0000 students in the district and three staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) has already implemented necessary safety precautions, including protective barriers, mandatory facemasks, and social distancing. Despite this, a student at Woodbridge High and a student at College Park Elementary have tested positive. In response, a district spokesperson has said that “school staff responded quickly to notify and provide direction from the Orange County Health Care Agency to those who had close contact and low-risk exposure to minimize and reduce the spread of COVID-19,” according to CBS.

Aside from personal protection measures, the IUSD has also created a public database which records all confirmed cases of both students and staff as of October 2nd. This is an attempt by the district to provide “accurate and transparent information” while also “maintaining privacy and confidentiality,” according to a Facebook post uploaded on the same day. After the creation of this resource, the IUSD reported three staff cases of coronavirus, with two at Creekside High School.

The database sorts the information according to total school population, number of staff/students in person, and confirmed cases (both student and teacher). This can be found on the IUSD website, or by clicking here (https://iusd.org/covid-19-resource-page/covid-19-dashboard). IUSD spokeswoman Annie Brown believes that it is one of the first districts within Orange Country to publish such a database.

The infection of both students and teachers is to be expected when returning in-person, regardless of how much personal protection and social distancing occurs at schools. Both SM and the IUSD are doing their best to protect the health and safety of both students and teachers.