Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice today issued the following update to school families:

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

This afternoon the district was made aware of two related positive COVID-19 cases in our schools. The affected individuals, one from Kings Highway Elementary School, and the other, from Bedford Middle School, have not been in the schools in recent days. They will remain excluded from both school environments and have been instructed to continue quarantining at home. 

Upon learning of the positive COVID-19 cases, the administration began immediate contact tracing. It has been determined that no other individuals at either school were identified as “close contacts.”

As I have shared in prior communications of a similar nature, working closely with the Westport/Weston Health District and our medical advisor, it has been confirmed that the staff and students have implemented our mitigating measures by maintaining distance to the maximum extent possible, and by wearing masks. However, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)/Department of Public Health (DPH) guidance indicates that decisions for exclusion from school and quarantine will be based on the individual circumstances of each case, including those who have spent a significant amount of time (i.e. more than 15 minutes) in the presence of a positive case, regardless of mask wearing.