13 UMass Amherst students test positive for COVID-19 in cluster (Sept. 28)
UMass Amherst reported that last week 13 students who are “known to have socialized together, and a number of them attended a party together,” tested positive for COVID-19 via the university’s asymptomatic testing program.
“This cluster of positive test results reminds us that, despite the low numbers we have seen on campus and in the community in recent weeks, we cannot allow ourselves to be comforted into complacency,” Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UMass’s vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, said in a press release. “The decisions we make now—the choice to skip the party, to wear a mask—will allow us to come together sooner in the future. If you live on campus or in the local area, you can help by participating in twice-weekly testing and cooperating with contract tracers.”
Someone at an Abington elementary school tested positive for COVID-19 (Sept. 28)
Abington school officials announced Saturday evening that a member of the Beaver Brook Elementary School community tested positive for COVID-19, though school officials have not said if that person is a staffer or student.
Those in close contact with the person were notified, according to a message from Superintendent of Schools Peter Schafer.
“We have been planning for this scenario and although all classrooms, offices and spaces are sanitized daily and nightly, we have a plan in place for additional sanitizing,” Schafer said in the announcement. “Our student body and staff have been closely adhering to the safety protocols including mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing.”
Salem State students who attended gathering of over 50 people to be cited (Sept. 28)
Salem police broke up an apartment party that included over 50 people Friday night on Becket Street, a news release said.
Those who attended the party will receive citations, while the owner of the home will also be cited “for keeping a disorderly house,” the release said.
Salem State students who attended the party will also be disciplined through the university, according to the release. Those who attended are being asked to get a free COVID-19 test provided through the university, or through Salem’s “Stop the Spread” testing site at Salem High School.
Read prior education news in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic here.
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