Chelsea Public Schools Temporarily Closed Due to “Significant Increase” in COVID Cases

Chelsea Public Schools is temporarily closed because the district said it has seen a “significant increase” in positive COVID-19 cases. 

Right now, students at Chelsea Public Schools do not know when they will be able to go back. The district did not even get through the first full week of school before it decided to shut down. Extracurricular activities are still going on, including a football game on Friday night.  

The parking lots are empty at Chelsea Public Schools and so are the classrooms. The district said it has not pivoted to virtual learning and has not determined when kids will be back, either. All buildings are closed until at least Friday to allow for deep cleaning, according to a district Facebook post. 

The district did not return phone calls or emails from News On 6 inquiring for more information. 

As of Wednesday, Rogers County is reporting 690 active COVID cases. 

"Trying to keep up with the positive case counts has been very difficult,” Oklahoma State Department of Health District 4 Regional Director James Thompson said. 

He said new positive case numbers have been consistently up more than 70 percent from where they were during the last week of July. Chelsea Public Schools said it saw a "significant increase" in positive COVID cases within a 24 hour time period, but did not say how many. 

"I know they had enough that their school district felt it was important to shut down and take a new look at how they needed to approach starting the school year,” Thompson said.  

While Oklahoma school districts cannot legally require masks, signs are on school buildings to remind students, staff, and parents that the CDC recommends masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. 

Thompson expects more school closures in the future, especially without mask requirements. 

"Having limited mitigation factors really inhibits your ability to do the best that you can and provide the safest environment that you can,” Thompson said. 

Chelsea Public Schools is not alone. Braggs Public Schools is doing virtual learning for the rest of the week, with the plan to return on Monday. 

Hulbert Public Schools switched its middle and high school students to distance learning through Thursday because of COVID.