These CT Schools Are Impacted By COVID-19 Cases

Some Connecticut school districts have sent students back home soon after school resumed in-person after be alerted of cases of COVID-19.

This comes as the coronavirus positive test rate increased to 1.6 percent and hospitalizations reached a high that Connecticut hasn't seen since July 10.

Gov. Ned Lamont said this uptick is a trend and it is "something we are watching carefully."

As cases pop up among students and school staff members, some schools are closing and switching to remote learning while others are staying open and sending small groups home to quarantine.

Bristol

In-person classes at Bristol Eastern High School were canceled and the school transitioned to remote learning Thursday and Friday after a member of the school community "was presumed to be positive with COVID-19," according to a statement from the superintendent.

The person was last in Bristol Eastern High School on Tuesday and anyone who is considered a “close contact” has been contacted by the school or local health officials and provided with instructions on the appropriate steps to take, according to the superintendent.

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After consulting with the Bristol Burlington Health District, BPS canceled in-person classes at Bristol Eastern High School and transitioned to remote learning for Sept. 17 and 18.

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Bridgeport

Jettie S. Tisdale School in Bridgeport was closed Monday after the superintendent said a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. Officials said the school would remain closed for the rest of the week.

Colchester

A member of the Colchester Elementary School community tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating, according to the school district. They notified the Chatham Health District and reached out to people who were in contact with the individual who tested positive.

The school district remains open and students will continue to be taught in cohorts, according to the school district.

Ellington

Two students at Ellington High School who are from the same family tested positive for COVID-19. The school will remain open, and anyone who might have had close contact with either student will be notified, officials said.

Farmington

A person at Farmington High School tested positive for COVID-19, according to the superintendent. The district notified families on Tuesday.

The person will remain home and all students and staff who had close contact with that individual will also quarantine at home for 14 days. Those students and staff will continue distance learning while at home.

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Greenwich

A Greenwich High School teacher tested positive for COVID-19 and school officials said the teacher is self-quarantining and contact tracing is underway. A student is also in quarantine after a family member tested positive for the virus.

School officials said a student went home on Tuesday after finding out that a family member was positive for COVID-19. The family member had been in quarantine since last week and the student had no contact since that point.

The student, who did not have symptoms, will quarantine at home for 14 days and will be tested.

The teacher who is positive self-quarantined as of last Friday evening and has not been in the building this week, school officials said.

After learning of the positive test, local health officials started conducting contact tracing Wednesday for any students who might need to be quarantined.

The school started optional COVID-19 testing for staff last week, tested around 50 GHS staff members last Friday and all results were negative, school officials said.

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 will be closed through Tuesday, Sept. 22 to allow for further contact tracing, the school district said. The school is expected to reopen for in-person learning on Sept. 23.

"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 on 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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Litchfield

Litchfield Public Schools will be all remote learning on Friday after officials learned that several students across multiple schools had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

School officials said the students attended a non-school event last weekend, which led to prolonged exposure with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Those who are directly affected will be notified as part of contact tracing efforts. All schools will be on remote learning Friday while buildings are deep cleaned.

Manchester

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

Meriden

A student who attends Maloney High School in Meriden tested positive for COVID-19, city officials confirmed Tuesday.

That student also attended a rally in Hartford last Wednesday calling for the CIAC to allow a fall football season.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to Meriden Public Schools to see what measures are being taken in response.

New Britain

New Britain school administrators learned on Friday that there are two confirmed COVID-19 cases within the school district.

One case involves a person at New Britain High School and the other involves someone at Slade Middle School, according to a release from the distrct.

The New Britain Public Health Department determined neither or the schools nor any of the classrooms will need to be closed, the release said.

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.

Somers

A student in a second-grade classroom at Somers Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19.

According to school officials, eight students in the particular cohort class must self-quarantine for 14 days. Seven staff members are also self-quarantining.

The families of those eight students in the cohort will be doing remote learning.

Southington

Southington High School is moving 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 for two weeks 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.

Wallingford

Parents were notified by the superintendent on Thursday that someone described as an individual who rides a bus tested positive for COVID-19.

The school district worked with the Wallingford Health Department and determined that the infected person came in close contact with one or more people on a bus. Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said families with students who had close contact with the individual will be notified.

Earlier in the week, parents were notified by Menzo that a second person at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School tested positive for COVID-19.

The school was closed Monday and Tuesday after someone associated with the school tested positive over the weekend.

The Wallingford Health Department initiated an investigation and said it will handle contact tracing to identify anyone who came in close contact with the person.

Waterbury

West Side Middle School will be learning virtually through the end of the week after a seventh-grade student tested positive for coronavirus, according to a spokesperson for the district. The students are expected to return to in-person learning next week.

Kennedy High School is all remote Thursday and Friday after two students tested positive for COVID-19, according to a letter from the superintendent. Anyone who may have had close contact with either student will be notified, officials said.

In-person classes will resume Monday.

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.

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.

Westbrook

Westbrook High School closed after a COVID-19 case there and switched to distance learning on September 14, 15, and 16

The district said that if a child was in the same class cohort or in close contact with the confirmed positive case then the district would contact the family and the child will need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Learn more here.

As students across Connecticut head back to school, some school districts are seeing cases of COVID-19, which is forcing them to close. Dr. Thomas Murray, associate medical director of infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, discusses challenges schools face.

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Wethersfield

Wethersfield Public Schools underwent cleaning and disinfecting Wednesday, which was a scheduled full-remote-learning day, after an individual from Silas Deane Middle School tested positive for COVID-19.