The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
COVID-19 case suspends summer school classes at Norwalk High School
NORWALK — In-person summer school at Norwalk High has been suspended after someone who was inside the building on Monday — the first day of classes — tested positive for COVID-19, district officials said.
Norwalk High summer school classes were switched Wednesday to distance learning for the rest of the week. About a half dozen people who came in close contact with the infected person have been asked to quarantine for two weeks and consult their doctors about getting tested.
The district announced Tuesday night that “a member of the Norwalk High School community who was in the building for summer classes” tested positive for coronavirus.
District officials on Wednesday declined to say whether the person was a staff member or student.
Frank Costanzo, the district’s chief of school operations, said the person did not have symptoms or a fever when completing the mandatory daily health screening and temperature check at the building on Monday. Costanzo said the person developed symptoms Monday night.
The person did not return to the school on Tuesday and went to a doctor for a COVID-19 test, Costanzo said. The person notified district officials late Tuesday about testing positive for the virus, Costanzo said.
After consulting with the city health department and the district’s medical adviser, Dr. Norman Weinberger, Norwalk Public
Schools decided to close the Norwalk High building until Monday.
Health Director Deanna D’Amore did not respond to an inquiry about how the person was able to get results so quickly and whether the district has a policy requiring students and staff to get same-day test results.
Through contact tracing, the district identified about a half-dozen people who came into close, extended contact with the infected person.
Costanzo did not know the exact number of people asked to quarantine, how many were students or the number of in-person classes that were shifted to distance learning.
To hold in-person summer school, the state required Norwalk and other Connecticut districts to follow certain guidelines, such as using every other classroom in the building, requiring students and staff to wear masks and having students and staff remain in small “cohorts” to limit exposure to others. It’s these restrictions that helped keep the infection under control, Costanzo said.
“If we were in a situation where we had regular class sizes, if student density were more typical for this time of the year, if students and staff weren't wearing personal protective equipment, we would’ve had a greater number of people quarantining,” Costanzo said.
The Norwalk Health Department requires a building to be completely closed for 24 hours after a person has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Costanzo said although it had been more than 24 hours since the person diagnosed was in the building, the district sealed off Norwalk High on Wednesday as a precaution.
The entire building will be cleaned beginning Thursday with a focus on the areas where the person spent time.
The district plans to reopen Norwalk High for summer school on Monday. State guidelines require schools to be closed for two to five days following a confirmed case in the building. Costanzo said the district is not considering keeping the school closed for longer or shutting any of the other 14 buildings where summer classes are being held.
The positive case comes during the first week of summer school classes in a hybrid model that includes online and in-person learning.
Students in lower elementary school are attending classes in-person three hours a day, five days a week while older students rotate between in-person and distance learning.
The district has established several precautions to comply with state guidelines and prevent the spread of COVID-19 while students and staff are in the building for summer learning.
District officials announced in late June they’d be using an in-person/ virtual hybrid model for summer, despite earlier concerns from the city over the risk of students returning to the classroom.
However, Costanzo said this early case does not change the district’s approach to summer school.
“It’s unfortunate the individual is confirmed to have COVID, but the district’s response to it has been a very strong, effective response,” he said. “Going through in-person learning over the next five weeks will position us well for a fall reopening. We’re getting a chance to experience what the new norm is, for lack of a better word. We deploy our protocols and then debrief and review decisions that are made and learn from each experience.”