The COVID virus is rearing its ugly head again in the Valley and, unfortunately, it’s just in time for the start of the new school year.

In mid-July, the Fresno County Department of Public Health reported that virus levels in wastewater were “high” and continuing to increase across the San Joaquin Valley. Health officials no longer track the virus by the number of positive cases or hospitalizations reported, but by the level of virus that shows up through wastewater monitoring.

On Monday, Dr. John Zweifler, a local family physician who is the Public Health Physician with the Department of Public Health, said that the levels as monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and California Department of Public Health continue to be high in this part of the state.

“We’re seeing high levels in the wastewater, however, as compared to what we were seeing back in 2020, 2021, 2022, the number of hospitalizations and deaths are considerably less,” he said. “And so even though there continues to be a high number of cases of COVID, we’re not seeing the morbidity and mortality that we have seen in in prior waves, probably because a lot of people have been vaccinated, and probably just about everybody has now been exposed to COVID. However, because COVID continues to morph, and we see different variants, different strains emerging, even if you’ve been infected before, you still could get COVID again.”

“High” is the highest level, Zweifler said, and are based on historic levels specific to regions.

Whereas COVID appears to be moving toward being more of a seasonal infection like influenza or RSV, it’s still subject to surges such as is occurring here this summer, he said.

Related Story: Watch Out, Fresno. That ‘Summer Cold’ Might Be COVID.

Take Precautions

What does this mean for students heading back to school? Zweifler recommends that parents and students take the same precautions they would for any respiratory illness: The child should stay home if they are running a fever of 100.4 or higher, wear a mask for five days after experiencing respiratory symptoms or if they’ll be indoors with people who are at a higher risk of complications from COVID.

Vaccination is also an effective means of slowing the virus’ spread and lowering symptoms in those who are infected, he said.

The public health department recommends contacting your family physician or local pharmacy or using the MyTurn.gov website to schedule an appointment. However, a check of the website on Monday showed that the closest site to Fresno to get a COVID vaccine or booster was in Oakdale in Stanislaus County.

The vaccine is being reformulated for the current variants and is expected to be more generally available sometime this month or in September.

Fresno County’s Rural Mobile Health program has a website with a calendar of upcoming clinics that can include COVID vaccinations.

The Fresno County Department of Public Health continues to meet regularly with the Fresno County Office of the Superintendent of Schools and school nurses.

Safe Schools for All Has Tips for Parents

The California Department of Public Health’s Safe Schools for All hub has recommendations for parents that include some COVID-specific tips as well as for other communicable illnesses. They include advice about when symptoms warrant calling a physician and mask tips for kids.

Clovis Unified will be operating under its routine procedures to guard against the COVID virus, including cleaning rooms daily, frequent handwashing, and encouraging children who are running a fever or have chills or a cough to stay home, district spokeswoman Kelly Avants said.

“We work collaboratively with Fresno County health officials to remain aware of any new recommendations given that they monitor overall community health. They have not provided us with any new recommendations for the upcoming school year at this time,” she said.

Fresno and Central Unified spokespeople did not respond with information before the story’s publication.

Monday afternoon, the two districts provided responses.

Central Unified spokeswoman Maria Cortez emailed: “We are maintaining our current guidelines. Our students are asked to stay home until fever is relieved for 24 hours and they are well. Our current guidelines are posted on the parent, staff and public information web page. Our students and staff are allowed to wear masks if they wish.”

Fresno Unified spokeswoman AJ Kato provided this response: “Because COVD is considered a respiratory virus it’s addressed the same way as the flu and RSV. People can return when symptoms have improved, and they’ve gone 24 hours without a fever. This goes for any illness.”