Archbishop Riordan High School today ordered students to stay home and announced a temporary shift to online classes after the San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday there have been three active tuberculosis cases at the school since November.
In videos and emails sent to students and families on Thursday, officials from the Catholic school ordered all students and staff to stay home until they complete testing and process the results.
The move comes two days after Riordan played a highly anticipated basketball game against St. Ignatius College Preparatory — an event that drew a sold-out crowd after the school had already started testing students, according to emails and documents obtained by Mission Local.
In response to emailed questions from Mission Local that included asking why the basketball game went forward, Tim Reardon, the high school’s president, wrote, “We have followed all SFDPH guidelines from the first day that we became aware of the TB situation,” and referred to the school’s Thursday announcement.
“Tuberculosis is a serious but treatable disease, and in consultation with public health experts, we do not believe a full school closure is either necessary or in the best interest of our students,” Reardon wrote in that message. “At the same time, we believe it is prudent to provide additional flexibility during this phase of testing.”
In an emailed statement, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said it is working closely with the school, and that all students and staff are required to undergo testing as part of a “coordinated screening and contact tracing effort.” Officials said protective measures are being implemented in consultation with school leaders and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The department issued an advisory to healthcare providers Thursday regarding the outbreak.
The school’s communications say that classes will be completely cancelled Friday, allowing for teachers to prepare online classes next week, for students to complete additional testing and for the school to process the results. Students who have been tested can start hybrid online and in-person classes starting Feb. 9. Classes will be hybrid until Feb. 20 to complete testing, after which students and staff who have not taken a test will be barred from campus.
A student and parent who spoke to Mission Local on the condition of anonymity said they first heard in November that an international student had had an active case of tuberculosis. They said the student was a member of the school’s basketball team.
The student, who requested anonymity, told Mission Local she did not see anyone wearing masks at the school until Wednesday, and that she had decided to skip school some days, including during the school’s mass services, to avoid indoor crowds.
Both the parent and student said they wish the school had moved to remote learning earlier.
The school did not respond to Mission Local’s request for comment on these allegations.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infectious disease that most often affects the lungs and spreads through the air when people with active TB cough, sneeze, or spit, according to the World Health Organization. TB is both preventable and curable. About a quarter of the world’s population is estimated to be infected with TB bacteria, but only a small proportion will develop active disease and become contagious. People with latent TB infection — those who do not have disease symptoms — are not contagious.
The city’s public health department confirmed three active (non-latent) cases of tuberculosis to the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday.
According to the most recently available data, San Francisco saw a total of 91 TB cases in 2024. This marked a 31 percent increase in cases since 2023, and a 58 percent increase in cases since 2022.