RENTON, Wash. — A middle school in the Renton School District is bringing back a universal masking requirement in response to an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Dimmitt Middle School has seen 39 COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days, according to data on the Renton School District website. Of the 39 positive cases, 34 are students and five are staff members. There are 645 students total at the school.
Public Health - Seattle & King County recommended requiring universal masking of all students and staff at the school, according to a message from the district. The requirement will begin on Wednesday, April 27. Families will be notified when masks become optional again.
There are no other schools in the district impacted by the mandate.
In general, King County has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in April. The county's transmission level is now "medium," per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC’s transmission level guidance, which was released back in late February, rates counties across the nation based on three transmission levels: low, medium and high.
On Monday, King County entered the medium transmission level because there are more than 200 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the last seven days.
Although cases have been increasing, the burden on King County hospitals from COVID-19 has been relatively low recently.
Bremerton High School is also been impacted by COVID-19 illnesses. The school is shifting to online learning on Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April 29 due to an increase in staff absences "for a variety of illnesses, including COVID," according to a message from the Bremerton School District.
The school will be back in person on Monday, May 2.