COVID-19 cases popping up at New Mexico Public Schools

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    New Mexico, USA (KOAT) — Even though kids are not in public schools in New Mexico right now, Target 7 has learned that COVID cases are popping up in schools throughout the state, including APS.

The head of the APS Teachers Federation says the district is not informing the public about it though, and thinks you have a right to know.

“I think the issue for our state is the public’s need to understand but even without students coming to school, people in schools are testing positive and that’s public information we need to know so we can make informed choices,” said Teacher Federation President Ellen Berstein.

Veronica Garcia, the superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools says there have been 10 cases involving staff or contracts since the outbreak began. She says in Santa Fe, they inform everyone who may have come in contact with the person who tested positive, and they also send out a news release. “I think it’s an important public service. I think it’s something we should be doing,” Garcia said.

The Public Education Department says most cases involve maintenance, and staff, including teachers. If the positive cases are traced back to the schools, they are closed and disinfected. The PED says right now they’re not tracking those numbers, but says they’re working on changing that, and that the information about schools with positive COVID cases is available on the State Environment Department’s website.

KOAT reached out to APS for comment and they sent a statement saying, “Well we’re not sending out public news releases about COVID cases, we are informing members of the community on a case-by-case basis.”

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