An outbreak of COVID-19 has prompted South Portland High School to move to an all-remote learning program starting Monday.

Superintendent Ken Kunin announced the outbreak on Tuesday in a letter to members of the school community.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention notified the school district on Tuesday that it had identified one confirmed case of COVID-19 and one probable case of the virus at South Portland High School. Because there were two prior confirmed cases at the high school, on Nov. 12 and Nov. 18, it qualifies as an outbreak, which the CDC defines as three or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 within 14 days.

The high school will be closed for in-person classes from Nov. 30 through Dec. 4 and is moving to full-distance learning for Wednesday. Depending on their cohort, students are scheduled to return to school on either Dec. 7 or Dec. 8.

A school nurse is in the process of reaching out to any individuals who may have been a close contact of someone who tested positive at the high school. If members of the school community are not contacted by the nurse by Tuesday evening, it means that the student, family member or staffer is not considered to be a close contact.

In addition to the high school outbreak, Kunin said an individual associated with Brown Elementary School recently tested positive for COVID-19,as did an individual associated with Kaler Elementary School.

Kunin is urging members of the school community to monitor themselves and students for symptoms or if they are exposed to someone with the virus over the Thanksgiving break. Families associated with the high school can contact school nurses Eileen Spencer or Jennifer DiMauro at 207-767-3266 with questions or concerns.

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