West Contra Costa County schools reopen after COVID deep cleaning

HERCULES, Calif. - Schools in West Contra Costa County are reopening on Tuesday after the district spent two "smoke days"  to shut schools down and get a grip on the spread of COVID-19. 

According to the latest numbers, Hercules HIgh School is reporting about 29 students who have the virus; that's the second-largest number district wide.

COVID cases more than doubled last week.

And as of Tuesday morning, the district reported 132 staff and more than 700 students tested positive.

Last week, school leaders announced that too many teachers were out and those staff shortages meant not enough adults were around to watch over students.

"In our district, we had far more absences than usual, we also had more students testing more positive for the COVID-19 virus," Supt. Kenneth Christ said. "It also put a strain on our system, and the rapid spread of the virus requires an aggressive response for us all." 

That aggressive response includes opening three new COVID testing sites district wide.

School leaders hoped closing schools last Friday and Monday would help reduce exposure and give those who were either sick or exposed to positive cases the appropriate amount of time to recover or be cleared from quarantine.

Families were asked to reduce exposure as much as possible over this long weekend.

Staff will now be required to wear medical grade masks like KN-95s. 

A vaccine requirement for students kicks in next month.