New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Officials: Multiple students quarantined after 4 test positive for COVID-19
NEW HAVEN — At least four New Haven Public Schools students have been confirmed with cases of COVID-19, according to officials.
“A student each in the Davis Street Magnet and the Edgewood Magnet had cases confirmed (Wednesday),” the district said in an email. Two students in the Beecher Magnet school also had tests confirmed, according to the district.
Nine Davis students were quarantined for exposure to the student whose case was confirmed, according to the district. Three Edgewood students and six Beecher students initially were quarantined, the district said.
In a later update, the district confirmed that, in addition to two students at Beecher, a third individual at the school tested positive for COVID-19. “The individuals have been instructed by the New Haven Health Department to remain home in isolation for 10 days, and have been provided with additional instructions to follow prior to returning to school,” district spokesman Justin Harmon said.
Because there were two students in the same Beecher classroom, the classroom was quarantined based on the definition of an outbreak, according to the district. Based on CDC guidelines, “a classroom outbreak is defined as two or more COVID-19 cases from separate households over a 10-day period in the same classroom or cohort,” according to the district.
Further, COVID cases were confirmed Thursday at Barack H. Obama Magnet University School, Wilbur Cross High School and Bishop Woods Architecture and Design Magnet School, according to Harmon. Twelve individuals were quarantined as a result: eight at Obama, two at Wilbur Cross, and two at Bishop Woods, according to Harmon.
Students returned to school from summer break Monday.
“The New Haven Public Schools follow CDC guidance and Connecticut state mandates in addressing the Covid pandemic,” according to the email.
Among precautions taken in city schools, face coverings are required for all in school buildings and on school buses, with scheduled mask breaks.
Any student quarantining at home will have asynchronous instruction, meaning they will complete assignments posted online by the teacher and not receive live instruction, according to officials.
The district has promoted vaccination among staff and students age 12 and up, holding 100 clinics and multiple ways for students and staff to get the shot.
As of Aug. 26, the city COVID positivity rate was 19.4 cases per 100,00 people, according to state data. That rate was for the period Aug. 8-21, according to the state data.
As city officials announced Wednesday that health inspectors will be cracking down on the city mask mandate, Health Director Maritza Bond said New Haven recently saw two additional deaths as a result of COVID-19, bringing the total number of pandemic-related deaths in New Haven to 211.
About 70 percent of the school district’s work force is vaccinated, based on selfreported data, according to officials.
By Sept. 27, according to a new state requirement, all staff must all be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.