The COVID-19 pandemic is largely a thing of the past at school districts in Spokane County, but case numbers have dropped only slightly in the last six weeks.

The area’s largest district, Spokane Public Schools, reported on Friday that 23 students and staff who had a confirmed case of COVID-19 entered a school building in the previous five school days.

That represents only a small fraction of the record numbers reported at the height of the omicron wave in late January, but is only marginally below the 28 cases reported on March 11 – just before the statewide mask mandate was lifted.

Most larger districts had similar declines.

On Monday, Central Valley reported 16 cases in the previous 10 days, down from 21 on March 11. Mead’s numbers fell from 24 to 14 during that period.

However, cases are barely down in Cheney Public Schools, which on Friday reported 21 cases in the previous two weeks. That’s almost unchanged since early March, when the district had 24 cases during the previous two weeks.

Medical Lake was the only other local district with double-digit cases, reporting 11 as of Friday.

Coeur d’Alene Schools reported three cases last week and one on Monday.