Hundreds of students under quarantine in Albert Lea, Minnesota, after COVID-19 exposure

• Almost 300 students in the Albert Lea Area Schools in Albert Lea, Minnesota, are under quarantine after just a week of school due to COVID-19 exposure.
• The school district reported 36 COVID-19 cases among students after just five days of school, according to Superintendent Mike Funk.
• In the week ending August 19, Children accounted for 22.4% of COVID-19 cases in the US.

Almost 300 students in the Albert Lea Area Schools in Albert Lea, Minnesota, are under quarantine after just a week of school due to COVID-19 exposure.

Albert Lea, a town in Southwestern Minnesota, is home to about 18,000 people. Its school district serves around 3,500 students.

Superintendent of the Albert Lea Area Schools, Dr. Mike Funk, said in a statement Thursday that 36 students tested positive for COVID-19 after just five days of school, and 290 students were exposed to the virus.

The district has not seen cases like these since last October, Funk said, announcing additional restrictions for students next week.

From Monday, students in the sixth to 12th grades will be required to keep masks on throughout the school day, except during lunch, according to the statement. Students participating in indoor activities - like volleyball and swimming - will also have to keep their masks on when not active.

The district had "minimal procedures in place" before this, Funk told CBS Minnesota, including the optional use of masks for students and staff.

The start of the school year in the US has coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and an increase in COVID-19 cases in children. In the week ending August 19, children accounted for 22.4% of COVID-19 cases, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In the state of Florida - where there is a current spike in COVID-19 cases - more than 10,000 students and staff were isolated or quarantined in the Hillsborough County Public Schools district after just a week of school, reported ABC News last week.

Freeborn County, where Albert Lea is located, has seen 3,845 COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths according to The New York Times.