Superintendent on COVID-19 surge: ‘This may get a little bumpy’
NEW CANAAN — Schools will continue to remain open despite attaining “red zone” status for high community transmission of COVID-19, but will offer temporary remote-learning and update its protocols, Superintendent Bryan Luizzi told parents in a letter on the district website dated Jan. 1.
As of noon on Monday, there were 102 students and 29 staff who are currently isolated after testing positive for COVID-19. Another 77 students and five staff are in quarantine after being deemed “in close contact.”
The schools may stay open because of “our extremely high vaccination rate,” which is 97 percent for faculty, 94 percent for staff and “strong” among students, Luizzi said. He added that, unlike past surges, the district has powerful tools to mitigate a spike this time.
“We recognize that a high COVID-19 positivity rate poses challenges for our students and families, and we are making some adjustments to our isolation, quarantine and temporary remote-learning protocols,” Luizzi said.
The district will be offering temporary live streaming of classes for students who are quarantining at home due to experiencing symptoms or are learning from home due to close contact, Luizzi said. He did warn parents that it may take up to 24 hours for the teacher to set up live-stream, though.
Since September, the schools have only been offering remote learning for immunocompromised students.
“This may get a little bumpy this next month, but we’ll get through it, and come out better on the other side,” the superintendent said.
The district will be suspending contract tracing and, instead, is asking students and staff to selfmonitor as contract tracing “becomes less effective” when the community transmission rate is high, Luizzi said.
The “highly contagious Omicron variant” is “spreading quickly in most environments” causing an increase in regional hospitalizations, the superintendent added. Unlike past surges, the community can “reduce the disruption the virus can cause” with the implementation of vaccinations, mask wearing, utilizing proper ventilation, testing and social distancing.
There are no New Canaan residents currently hospitalized with COVID-19, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said Monday morning during a Board of Selectmen meeting.
Luizzi said the district plans to adopt isolation strategies in accordance with updated guidance from the CDC where staff or students who are “even mildly symptomatic” should isolate at home. After a positive test, staff and students will be asked to isolate for five days and return to school if they are not experiencing symptoms while wearing a mask for the next five days.
When staff and students have been exposed to a positive case, if vaccinated less than six months ago or had a booster shot, they are asked to wear a mask for 10 days and test on the fifth day after exposure, the superintendent said.
If unvaccinated, or not yet boosted after being vaccinated for six months, the district recommends the person should stay home for five days, be tested on the fifth day after exposure, return to school one day later and continue wearing a mask for an additional five days.
“Safety of our school community is our highest priority and we remain nimble based on changing conditions, always supportive of each other and wholeheartedly confident that together we will continue to weather whatever challenges the pandemic brings our way,” Luizzi said.