SOUTHERN COLORADO — Southern Colorado schools have been hit with Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory illnesses in the past few weeks, and today, two local classrooms are closed because of children getting sick with the virus.
It’s one pre-K classroom at Sierra Vista Elementary in Pueblo West that is closed, and one classroom at Rye elementary in Rye is also closed because of an outbreak.
Per district protocol, the students will be out of the classroom for 72 hours and will return to the classroom on Monday. When students return, they'll be practicing social distancing, hand washing, and individual playtime. These are a lot of the same precautions schools, parents and their children have taken since the pandemic started.
“Reiterate hand sanitizer, washing your hands, trying to minimize the spread of it, and obviously keep the kids home,” said Tari Richardson, a local parent.
Richardson’s son, Braxton, has tested positive for RSV twice this year, and four times since he was a baby.
“I know what we need to do. We need to just watch him, and keep his fever down, because this time his fever was fluctuating and was a little higher,” said Richardson.
When her son's symptoms got worse a little over two weeks ago, she took him to the emergency room at Children's Hospital Colorado.
“This time, it was very heart wrenching, and very scary for us in general because this was the worst round that he's had of RSV,” said Richardson. “He couldn't stay awake, he couldn't stand up, he couldn't do anything.”
In El Paso County, there are currently 54 RSV outbreaks at schools and childcare facilities. Outbreaks are defined as two or more confirmed cases of RSV among students, with symptoms occurring within a one-week period in the same group setting or classroom.
“It's just it's a very scary time right now for all of our little kids, and even grownups,” said Richardson.
Spokespersons from Colorado Springs School District 20 and Harrison School District 2 also say respiratory illnesses are circulating right now, although it's not uncommon this time of year, and not of great concern when it comes to impacting school operations. The spokesperson with D20 said RSV cases have also decreased significantly since Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Richardson's son is still recovering two weeks later.
“He doing a lot better than he was the week of Thanksgiving, but he still has the lingering cough,” said Richardson.
Dr. Kevin Carney, Chief Medical Officer at Children's Hospital Colorado said in a statement to News5, that there's been a significant decrease in RSV infections over the past two weeks. The hospital is also starting to see decreases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations. However, he says flu cases among children are rising.
For more information about the differences between RSV, COVID-19, and the flu, click here.
For more information about the Colorado RSV report released by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, click here.
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