Schools hold off on hybrid learning

After slight decrease in cases, classes extended for 2 weeks

HARTFORD — Hartford schools will have at least two more weeks of full-time, in-person learning after coronavirus cases fell slightly from the uptick the city experienced the first week of October.

Citywide, there were 125 newconfirmed cases between Oct. 11 and Saturday, and a positive test rate of 1.8%, according to preliminary data from the mayor’s office.

This time last week, the city was reporting there had been 164 new cases during the week starting Oct. 4, and a positivity rate of 2.3%. As more tests were reported to the state, the total number of new cases rose to 199, for a positivity rate of 2.5%.

“Wehave seen a continued stabilization and a very slight decrease in the number of cases week over week,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said.

The school district’s decision, announced Monday afternoon, was also influenced by contact tracing showing minimal transmission of the virus within schools.

While more than 50 members of the Hartford Public Schools community have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the school year, including 35 students, there is only one probable case of someone contracting the virus in school, Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said Monday.

Hartford schools will continue monitoring the spread of the virus to determine whether the district should shift to a hybrid mix of online and in-person learning, in which about half as many students would be in school on any given day.