(Woodland, CA) – Today, (December 16, 2021) the Washington Unified School District (WUSD) and Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) confirmed an outbreak of the Omicron COVID-19 variant at River City High School in West Sacramento. All parents were informed in a letter last night from WUSD, and Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson has strongly recommended all students and staff get tested immediately. Healthy Yolo Together, County staff, and a State-supported outbreak response team are providing COVID-19 testing on campus, and all students and staff will be offered home antigen testing kits for use over the winter break. Campus-wide testing will prevent spread of the outbreak into the wider community as winter break begins this weekend.

To date, the Omicron outbreak involves five students. Four of the students come from one class; the fifth student is a family member who is not in that class. An outbreak is defined as three or more linked cases in a location within a 14-day period, qualifying this case cluster as an outbreak. Two of the cases are confirmed as Omicron based on genotyping done at the UC Davis Genome Center, and the remainder are presumed to be Omicron based on linkage to the confirmed cases. Two of the students were fully vaccinated but had not received a booster. The students had not traveled and had mild symptoms. An additional family member who is not a student is also part of the outbreak, bringing the total number of cases associated with the outbreak to date to six. This number is expected to increase as more students are tested.

“The detection of an Omicron outbreak at a Yolo County school is not surprising because we already knew that Omicron was present in Yolo County, and schools are a part of the Yolo County community. This outbreak illustrates that the Omicron variant is circulating in our community and is not just a risk for those who have traveled. Omicron is here, and Omicron can spread quickly,” said County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson.

“We know emotions are heightened with the discovery of this new variant, but our team, together with Yolo County Health, are following all the public health protocols that have allowed our schools to remain open since August,” said WUSD Superintendent Cheryl P. Hildreth, Ed.D. “The best thing we can all do is continue to be cautious while using multiple layers of protection, and we strongly recommend that everyone in our schools and community take advantage of the daily testing clinics available through WUSD to guard against future transmission.”

What should everyone in Yolo County do right now? “As we enter the holiday season, I encourage everyone to take additional precautions against Omicron. Get vaccinated, and if you’re already vaccinated, get boosted. The vaccine may not keep you from getting a mild infection, but it will keep you out of the hospital,” said Dr. Sisson. “Wear a mask that fits your face well and filters well. Get tested before and after gatherings and travel, and stay home if you are sick, even if you think you only have a cold. That “cold” could be a mild Omicron infection.”

Locations for vaccinations can be found on myturn.ca.gov. For current testing locations and hours throughout Yolo County, including West Sacramento City Hall, visit HealthyDavisTogether.org/testing/. Visit www.yolocounty.org/covid for Yolo County COVID-19 information.