A central Vermont middle school will be closed to in-person instruction this week after two students tested positive for Covid-19.
Harwood Unified Union School District Superintendent Brigid Nease said Sunday afternoon she had been notified that two Crossett Brook students that attended school in-person on Tuesday – the first day of school – had tested positive for the virus. The Duxbury school serves about 300 students in grades 5 to 8.
“Our team is working with the (Vermont Department of Health) to implement the required guidelines including contact tracing and quarantine. Families and staff will be notified by the department of health as required based on exposure,” Nease wrote in an email sent to staff, the school board, and press.
Like most Vermont school districts, Harwood has adopted a hybrid learning model blending remote and in-person instruction. All other schools in the Harwood district will remain open as regularly scheduled for in-person instruction on Tuesday and Thursday, the superintendent said.
“We recommend that you take action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if your child is not experiencing symptoms. Please answer the phone if the Health Department contacts you. A contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information,” she added.
Nease was not immediately available for an interview.
Crossett Brook appears to be the first instance of positive cases of Covid-19 closing down a school this year. But state officials have warned for weeks that a case of the virus would inevitably pop up in schools, and expressed confidence that the state’s testing and tracing capacity could successfully contain any outbreaks.