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9/25: COVID-19 Cases Affect Several Conn. Schools

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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.

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Colchester

Colchester Elementary School is closed for in-person learning until Oct. 5 due to a staffing shortage, according to school administrators.

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 on Monday.

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 for in-person learning on Friday Sept. 25 after someone in the school community tested positive for COVID-19. The school was also closed Thursday. Students are being asked to follow a remote learning schedule for both days. More information can be found here.

Fairfield

Town officials in Fairfield say as many as 100 people might have to quarantine after six people tied to the high school community tested positive for COVID-19.

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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Hamden

Helen Street School in Hamden has had a case of COVID-19.

Supt. 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.

Hartford

The Hartford School District said in a statement that there have been several confirmed COVID-19 cases and they are working closely with the city's health department to follow protocol and inform families.

Noah Webster Microsociety Magnet School was closed through Tuesday, Sept. 22 to allow for further contact tracing, the school district said.

"Positive cases remain low in Hartford County but we must all remain vigilant to keep our students, teachers, and staff healthy and safe," Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said in a statement.

Hartford Public Schools announced two cases of COVID-19 in the community last Monday morning.

A student at Weaver High School tested positive for COVID-19 and through contract tracing, four students were determined to have come in close contact, the district said. The four students in close contact will have to self-quarantine at home for 14 days. In-person classes are continuing at the school.

On Sept. 11, Bellizzi Middle School's principal announced a community partner who was in the building tested positive. The person was asymptomatic before testing positive and was advised to quarantine at home. Through contract tracing, the district notified two staff members and a student of close contact and asked them to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.

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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.

Manchester

A cohort of students and staff at Waddell Elementary School in Manchester were asked last week to self-quarantine after a second-grade student reported symptoms of COVID-19.

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 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.

Southington

Southington High School moved all classes to remote learning on Monday after a person tested positive for COVID-19.

The school district said the last contact in school was on Tuesday, Sept. 15 so the positive test affects Cohort A students and staff.

Students and staff who are identified as a close contact will be contacted within 24 hours. Those who don't receive a close contact notification are not believed to be at risk, the school district said.

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.

"This decision was not made lightly, and was the result of careful and thorough contact tracing completed by the Trumbull Nursing Department. We are very grateful for their help and support," Bryan Rickert, principal of Hillcrest Middle School wrote in a letter to families.

Waterbury

On Friday, school district officials said an in-person student at Generali Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19.

One student at Bunker Hill Elementary School and another student at Tinker Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19, district officials said Friday. Both students are taking classes virtually and have not been in school.

District officials said early Sunday afternoon that they learned one student taking in-person classes at Generali Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19. His or her specific cohort/class will be transitioning to distance learning through Friday, Sept. 25, they added.

Another student attending in-person classes at Wallace Middle School tested positive for COVID-19. District officials said they learned of the positive case Sunday afternoon.

Six other students who were attending virtual learning for the district also tested positive for COVID-19, the district said on Sunday.

School officials said a contracted bus driver also tested positive for COVID-19 and will remain in self-quarantine for 14 days.

A specific classroom at Chase Elementary School in Waterbury is being quarantined after a student there tested positive for COVID-19. All of the students in the affected class will transition to distance learning until Sept. 24, the school district said. The rest of the school remains open for in-person learning.

School officials said Monday that one in-person student at Washington Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19. The specific cohort affected will transition to distance learning through Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Cases of COVID-19 are popping up among students and staff members across the state, which is forcing some schools to close their doors and switch to remote learning.
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Weston

The entire district was temporarily moved to remote learning for Monday, Sept. 21 after administrators learned about another case of COVID-19 over the weekend.

The school district said they learned about a Hurlbutt Elementary School student who tested positive for COVID-19 around 8:30 p.m. last Sunday.

"We need at least Monday to do additional contact tracing to determine the potential spread of COVID-19 in the District. We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution," the district posted in a statement on its website.

Windsor

A student at Windsor High School and a student at Sage Park tested positive for COVID-19. All students who have been deemed to be a close contact were notified. A letter on the school website says the impacted class would quarantine for 14 days, retroactive to the last contact, and participate in distance learning for that time.

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