More than 50 students and staff members at York High School will have to quarantine after an individual affiliated with the school tested positive for COVID-19.
The infected person was affiliated with Cohort A, one of two student groups that go to school on different days as part of the school department’s hybrid learning model.
Contact tracing indicated that 47 students and nine staff members may have been in close contact with the infected individual and must quarantine for 14 days, Superintendent Lou Goscinski said in a letter to the school community on Saturday.
Monday will be a distance learning day for the high school’s Cohort A and the high school will be cleaned and disinfected according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines before reopening for in-person learning, Goscinski said.
The school department did not give any details about the infected individual. It is possible that other staff or students came into contact with the individual and could have been exposed to the virus, according to Goscinski.
“Once again, the York School Department wishes the infected individual a quick return to health, and will maintain confidentially in accordance with federal and state privacy laws,” Goscinski said. “I will provide an update on Monday if the school department needs to take further action to address this situation.”
This is the third time in less than a month York schools have been disrupted by positive COVID-19 cases. At least two positive cases at Coastal Ridge Elementary School on Oct. 9 forced the department to close the school for two weeks. A positive case at York High School less than two weeks ago caused 30 students and teachers to quarantine.
“I know that this additional positive case of COVID-19 in our school community continues to add stress to an already difficult situation,” Goscinski said in his letter Saturday. “We remain vigilant and steadfast to take steps to protect the health of our students, school personnel and the York community.”
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