Palm Springs Unified School District reports 43 student cases of COVID-19, 13 staff

43 students and 13 staff members of the Palm Springs Unified School District are infected with COVID-19.

The Palm Springs Unified School District released the latest figures on its website. The district has added an active case tracker to its website "to provide our PSUSD families and staff with a summary of campus COVID-19 cases."

The district explained "an active case indicates that a student or staff member participating in on-campus instruction has tested positive for COVID-19 infection."

The dashboard is updated daily.  Any parents of students who have a direct exposure to someone who has tested positive receives notification and instructions.

The district said determination of the number of students in the class or whether a class is temporarily shut down is determined by the contact tracing and numbers who have been directly exposed.

An AutoDialer went out to all parents on Tuesday afternoon, which encouraged parents to complete their "child’s daily health screening prior to the start of school each day," and keep children "home if he or she is exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19."

It listed the symptoms associated with the virus, which can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle or body aches, nasal congestion or runny nose, diarrhea, and red or itchy eyes. 

PSUSD also said, "any students or staff members who have a direct exposure to a positive case are notified directly from our Supervising Nurse."

Students who may have been exposed to COVID-19 should also remain at home until a negative test result is received and should not come to school while they are awaiting test results. 

The district is also continuing to offer free vaccination clinics throughout the months of August and September for students that are ages 12 and older.

Anyone who wants more information is encouraged to refer to the district's reopening guide.

A version of the guide in Spanish can be found here.

Desert Sands Unified School District also has an active COVID-19 case tracker on its website.

While the 2021-2022 school year does not begin until August 18, the district is already reporting 9 active COVID-19 cases and 39 current quarantines.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates.