Published in the December 23, 2020 edition.
WAKEFIELD — School officials alerted families yesterday that the continuing increase of positive COVID cases may mean an extension of the remote learning model after the holiday break.
Since last Friday, there have been 19 new COVID cases in the schools with 16 students and three staff members testing positive. As of yesterday, there is one new student case at the Dolbeare School, three students cases at the Galvin Middle School, one staff case at the Greenwood, one student case and one staff case at the Walton, seven student cases and one staff case at Wakefield Memorial High and four student cases at the Dolbeare.
There are currently 123 students under quarantine and eight staff members throughout the district.
There have been a total of 81 positive student cases in the schools since they reopened in September and 19 among staff.
Lyons wrote to families yesterday that school nurses and the Board of Health have been able to “contact trace effectively and manage our positive cases. Although the positive case numbers are higher this week, an increasing challenge is the number of students and staff who are in quarantine…
“Our goal is to start back on January 4, 2021 in our hybrid schedules. However, we must be prepared to continue in our remote schedules if transmission rates, close contacts, positive cases and personnel in quarantine are too high for us to return. We are planning to watch the data and transmission rates over the break. We will make a decision by the end of the day on Wednesday, December 30th about any changes regarding our plan to return to our hybrid schedules.
“As I am sure you know, we cannot provide specific information about members of our school community who tested positive. A close contact is defined by the CDC as being within 6 feet of the positive person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period. Per the Board of Health, all close contacts should be tested and must self-quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure to the person who tested positive, regardless of the test result. We are also following all Department of Public Health Protocols, including collaborating with our local Board of Health to complete contact tracing.
“These new cases, when added to the Wakefield COVID data dashboard numbers, bring our total case numbers, both active and recovered cases, to 81 students and 19 staff members. As stated above, these new cases have been reported to the Wakefield Board of Health, the Mass Department of Public Health (DPH), and will be reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
“To further prevent transmission of the virus to other staff and students, we will continue to sanitize the schools. We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue teaching and learning. Our students in quarantine will be provided with guidance and support from their current teachers and counselors regarding remote learning expectations. Teachers will continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging for those students and families involved
“We are committed to timely communication to support all of our families. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact me, Doug Lyons at doug.lyons@wpsk12.org or Kara Mauro at kara.mauro@wpsk12.org.
“If there is additional transmission as a result of these cases or other cases to report we will send out another message as soon as possible.
“Best Wishes to you and your families over the Holiday Break!”
