Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice today issued the following update to school families:
Good afternoon,
I would like to share some updates as we approach the Thanksgiving weekend.
The following update will include information on the immediate future, quarantining practices, supports for quarantined students and distance learners, transportation, travel guidance, COVID-19 reporting, and some of my personal thoughts on what we might expect over the horizon.
The Immediate Future
As projected in October, community infection rates increased sharply over the past month. Meanwhile, our schools have shown a remarkable resilience in halting any spread of the virus in our buildings. I am confident that vigilance in maintaining our mitigating measures (i.e.masks, distancing, hand hygiene, etc.), as well as keeping the density of our schools at 50% capacity, have ensured this measure of success.
We have identified nearly 80 positive student and staff COVID-19 cases in our schools since September. As a result, nearly 1,500 students and staff have been asked to quarantine. Yet, there has been little to no spread of COVID-19 once positive cases have been identified in our schools. The lack of positive COVID-19 tests of those in quarantine is affirmation of our ability to halt the spread of the virus once it enters our schools.