A new study has found minimal evidence that the novel coronavirus is transferring inside K-12 school buildings despite reports of students and faculty across the country contracting the disease.

*0.23% of students had confirmed or suspected cases - rate among educators was 0.51%*

Brown University researchers collaborated with school administrators and released data Wednesday from a new National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard.

COVID-19 cases recorded in the dashboard show a relatively small degree of spread among staff and students. The study looked at data collected from more than 550 schools across 46 states over a two-week period starting Aug. 31, with more than 300 schools maintaining some level of in-person classes.

Researchers found 0.23% of students had confirmed or suspected cases of the virus, while the rate among educators was 0.51%. The rates for confirmed cases were lower at 0.076% for students and 0.15% for teachers. The data included those for public and private schools, with many of the schools located in smaller communities.

Researchers at Brown University say the early evidence could mean that a return to classes this fall may not be as risky as school administrators previously expected, though they caution schools to analyze potential risks based on their own virus situation.

"Everyone had a fear there would be explosive outbreaks of transmission in the schools. We have to say that, to date, we have not seen those in the younger kids, and that is a really important observation,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said in a Post interview.

As previously reported by KPGZ News, there is inconsistent reporting in parts of the country as it relates to COVID-19 cases and deaths. This represents a challenge for fully understanding the virus situation. It also makes it unclear how certain policies, such as mask-wearing, impacted trends in those reviewed schools.

KPGZ News – Jim Dickerson contributed to this story with data from the Hill and the National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard