UPDATED, Dec. 2: The town Health Department has reported a cluster of nine positive Covid-19 cases at St. Agnes, a parochial school, and those affected are self-isolating at home.
The same day, Dec. 1, town residents forwarded emails from school officials reporting a number of cases in the town’s public schools. Unlike the town news release, notification was not sent to the general public.
In the St. Agnes case, Public Health Director Natasha Waden reports that the Health Department is closely monitoring the cluster. No further details, as to age or grade, were reported.
As to the public schools, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie sent an email to a limited group, which says: “Over the Thanksgiving week when schools, except for the preschool, were remote from Monday through Wednesday, six staff members and two students tested positive for Covid-19. In total, there were three close staff contacts, who remain remote following quarantine guidelines for close contacts. No close contacts were students.
“Of the six staff members who tested positive, three are district staff members. The other three staff members work at Peirce and Brackett. One student attends Hardy and the other student attends Peirce.
“To date, there have been no Covid-19 virus transmissions in any of our schools.”
Peirce report
Separately, on Dec. 1, Peirce Principal Andrew Ahmadi wrote to his school community that “two Peirce staff members tested positive for Covid-19 over the remote week. Because last week was remote for faculty and students, neither staff member had close contacts with any students or other staff. We continue to adhere to strict mitigation strategies at Peirce and are encouraged that students, families and faculty are doing all that they can to keep our community safe.”
Bodie has been asked to comment about the differences in her report and Ahmadi’s.
Staff testing Monday
Looking ahead for the staff of the Arlington Public Schools, the administration has announced that optional testing for Covid-19 is set for Monday, Dec. 7, for in-person staff members.
Testing will be held at Arlington High School in the hallway between the new main office and the courtyard, between noon and 5 p.m. Staffers are asked to enter the testing site through the AHS courtyard. Registration must be completed by Friday, Dec. 4.
CareEvolve is the platform through which the Broad Institute will deliver the results.
The notice adds: “If you have been exposed to a positive Covid-19 case or if you have traveled to a high-risk state over the Thanksgiving break, you cannot enter the high school for APS testing while you are in quarantine or travel restrictions.”
Those who fall under these restrictions/quarantine and want a Covid test on Monday are asked to contact Cindy Sheridan, who is the court liaison/attendance officer/diversion coordinator.
Health Department update
In a Dec. 1 news release, the town Health Department said it has been working closely with school officials to ensure all students and staff who are close contacts to any of the positive cases are identified so that they may quarantine and get tested as necessary.
All close contacts will be contacted by the school or local public health officials. If you are not contacted, you have not been identified as a close contact and do not have to quarantine.
The cluster is isolated to one classroom, and all the students and staff in that classroom have been asked by school officials to get tested for Covid-19 before the school’s scheduled return to in-person learning next week.
The affected grade transitioned to remote learning on Nov. 21 in response to one positive case and the need to quarantine close contacts. The remainder of the school has also held remote learning this week, however. The school is currently scheduled to return to its full in-person learning model on Monday, Dec. 7.
Residents are reminded that free testing for Covid-19 is available through the state’s Stop the Spread initiative, and the nearest testing sites are in Everett and Chelsea. For more information, click here >>
Reminders
The Health Department offers these reminders:
- Wear a mask in public at all times.
- Practice social distancing and maintain six feet of distance from those you don’t live with.
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, and use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not readily available.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Indoor residential gatherings in Massachusetts are currently limited to 10 people. Outdoor residential gatherings are limited to 25 people. All gatherings must end by 9:30 p.m.
- Staying home and observing the holidays with those in your household or hosting a virtual celebration are the best ways to protect yourself and others from Covid-19. Additional guidance for celebrating the holidays amid Covid-19 is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here >>
- Massachusetts travel restrictions require that anyone visiting Massachusetts from states other than Hawaii must either quarantine for 14 days upon arrival or produce a negative PCR test result from a sample taken within 72 hours of arrival. Visitors from Maine or New Hampshire arriving after 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, are subject to quarantine and testing restrictions. All travelers arriving from states designated as high risk by the commonwealth, including Massachusetts residents returning home, must also fill out a travel form. For more information, click here >>
To review the state’s most recent gatherings order, click here >>
For the latest updates on Covid-19 case numbers throughout the state, resources, guidance and state orders, visit the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s website.
This news announcement was published Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, and updated twice Dec. 2. The writers included Kelsey Bode, who works for John Guilfoil Public Relations, which provides news release for the Arlington police.
