COVID-19 Cases Affect Several Schools in Conn. – NBC Connecticut
Students have been back in school for a short time since the schools were shut down last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some Connecticut school districts have sent students back home due to cases of the virus.
Some schools are closing and switching to remote learning while others are staying open and sending small groups home to quarantine.
Berlin
Two members of the Berlin Public Schools community have tested positive for COVID-19. District officials said the two individuals were last at Griswold Elementary School on Friday, September 18 and that close contacts are being identified.
Bridgeport
The Paul Lawrence Dunbar School in Bridgeport will be closed for in-person learning through Sept. 29, according to the district website. All classes will be remote during that time.
The argument to play or not to play for any high risk sport seems to have a grey area.
Colchester
Three staff members at Colchester Elementary School have tested positive for COVID-19 and other staff and some students who came in contact with them have been quarantined, Superintendent Jeffrey Burt said in a post on the school district’s website last week.
The school said it plans to reopen on Oct. 5, if it is safe to do so.
Three staff members at Colchester Elementary School have tested positive for COVID-19 and other staff and some students who came in contact with them have been quarantined, according to the superintendent.
Enfield
Enfield High School is closed on Monday, Sept. 28, after a member of the school community tested positive for COVID-19.
The last day the person was at the high school was on Sept. 22, according to school officials. He or she is self-isolating at home. His or her family members have also been instructed to self-isolate and to get tested.
The district said it is notifying anyone who had direct contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19.
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Fairfield
Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said there are six positive cases tied to the high school community: five at Fairfield Ludlowe High School and one at Fairfield Prep.
The infected individuals are all currently in isolation.
During contact tracing, the health department discovered there were at least six gatherings over the weekend of high school students that might have led to these cases. Four of the events were attended by students who then tested positive for the virus.
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Glastonbury
Of the students in quarantine, 16 are from Glastonbury High School, seven are from Smith Middle School, one is from Gideon Welles School, and one is from Buttonball Elementary School, according to school officials.
One staff member from Hopewell School and another from the busyard are also in quarantine, the school district said.
One student at Glastonbury High School has tested positive for COVID-19.
The numbers listed for people in quarantine indicate people who were in direct contact with someone who tested positive, according to the school district.
Hamden
Helen Street School in Hamden has had a case of COVID-19.
Superintendent Jody Goeler notified families that a staff member at Helen Street School has tested positive for coronavirus. Anyone who was in “close contact” is being contacted and given instructions on steps to take. Goeler said students and staff members who have not been in close contact are able to remain in school.
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Hebron
A person who works in a support capacity for Hebron schools has tested positive for coronavirus, according to school superintendent Thomas Baird.
The individual was last at Hebron Elementary School and Gilead Hill School on Sept. 15, Baird said. The person will remain in self-isolation for 10 days.
The district and Chatham Health determined that no students or staff were at risk for exposure to the virus in connection to the case.
New Britain
A member of the CLIMB Program has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school district.
The school district was notified of the positive case last Friday afternoon and the person has been told to remain home and quarantine for 14 days.
The last day this person was at the program was on Sept. 21, school officials said.
New Canaan
In New Canaan, 53 students are quarantining at home after four classmates tested positive for coronavirus. The students who are quarantining were determined to have close contact with the students who tested positive. Those four students are not included in the quarantine count, according to the superintendent. A staff member at the high school is also in quarantine.
Three of the four cases at the high school appear to be connected through youth sports activities, according to the superintendent.
A staff member at West Elementary School is quarantining as well. It was not clear why that person is in quarantine.
North Branford
School officials said administrators were notified that a member of the North Branford High School community tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and immediate action was taken to isolate, perform contact tracing and notify anyone who was in close contact with this person.
Simsbury
A support staff member at Simsbury High School tested positive for COVID-19. After determining that the staff member had no close contacts while working at the school, the district determined the school can remain open.
Stratford
Bunnell High School is closed for 14 days after two additional people tested positive for COVID-19.
School officials said in a letter on Friday that the high school is closed and students will be distance learning for the next two weeks.
On Friday, school officials said they were notified of two additional positive COVID-19 cases within the Bunnell High School community. Anyone who was directly in contact with either person who tested positive will be contacted and should remain in quarantine for 14 days, they said.
The plan is to resume the hybrid model on October 12, school officials added.
Trumbull
Hillcrest Middle School is closed to all students because of a case of COVID-19 and school will be remote while the school is closed.
Students in Cohort B will be able to re-enter the building on Thursday, Oct. 1, according to a statement from the principal.
Waterbury
School officials said last Monday that one in-person student at Washington Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19. The specific cohort affected is distance learning through Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Over the weekend, school officials said one person taking in-person classes at Wilson Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19. The person’s class/cohort will transition to distance learning through Friday, Oct. 2.
Two people at Wilby High School who are attending school virtually also tested positive. Those two people have not been in the building and have been distance learning since the first day of school, officials added.
The city’s contact tracing team is working to identify close contacts involved with the in-person positive case.
As students across Connecticut head back to school, some school districts are seeing cases of COVID-19, which is forcing them to close. Dr. Thomas Murray, associate medical director of infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, discusses challenges schools face.
