SAN PERLITA, Texas — San Perlita Independent School District in Willacy County suspended classes Tuesday and Wednesday after officials reported rapid COVID-19 spread across the district, with schools scheduled to reopen Thursday, Aug. 27.
The district announced the two-day closure Monday as a precaution to protect students, staff and families. Officials did not disclose the number of COVID-19 cases among students or employees.
“Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 within our district, all school operations will be suspended for two days as a precautionary measure to help protect the health and safety of our students, staff and families,” the district said in a social media post.
San Perlita ISD is located about 55 miles north of Brownsville and served 174 students during the 2024-25 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
The district said it will continue monitoring COVID-19 activity and provide families with updates. Schools and offices are expected to reopen Thursday.
The closure comes as health officials report increased COVID-19 activity in parts of Texas.
Harris County Public Health currently classifies COVID-19 wastewater activity in the Houston area as high, with elevated levels at monitoring sites throughout the county. Some sites, including locations in Katy and Cypress, have recorded very high activity.
Wastewater surveillance helps health officials track community-level virus activity because individual COVID-19 cases are no longer required to be reported as a notifiable disease in Texas. Harris County Public Health said the wastewater data does not represent a count of individual infections.
The county collects wastewater samples from sites across Harris County and tests them for COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.
Houston infectious disease expert Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said on X that COVID-19 wastewater levels were beginning to rise in Texas.
Hotez also raised questions about the timing of the next updated COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to become available in September.
