Daniel Webster Elementary School is shifting to fully remote learning for at least two weeks after six members of the school community tested positive for the coronavirus during the past five days.
The school could reopen for in-person classes by Oct. 26, though a final decision will be made next week, Marshfield Superintendent Jeffrey Granatino said in a letter to families, as obtained by The Boston Globe, Saturday.
Contact tracers are requiring several people who were in close proximity with those who tested positive to quarantine for 14 days, the Globe reported, and with so many forced to stay home Granatino said the school did not have enough staff to safely open and educate students in the hybrid model.
“We will continue to work diligently to ensure our schools adhere to all covid-related protocols and practices” he reportedly wrote in the letter, adding that he hopes no other schools will have to shift learning models. “Still, no school can combat this situation alone.”
Marshfield’s State Representative Patrick Kearney told WBZ that a sports game led to the new positive cases.
“This incident, due to contact tracing, was not actually linked to it being spread at school. It was being linked to a youth sports event that happened outside of the school district,” Kearney said. “There are some teachers that tested positive. There are a couple others that were exposed.”
Kearney told the station that without consistency when it comes to implementing COVID-19 precautions in sports, “you’re going to see a spread.”
Hoping to avoid more sudden closures, Granatino urged parents to help enforce COVID-19 safety guidelines at home, too.
“It is incumbent upon all of us to be vigilant,” he wrote, according to the Globe. “The need for socialization is real, but the need for safe behaviors is critical.”
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