Boston health officials down Jamaica Plain school for 10 days due to coronavirus outbreak

The Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain will close down for 10 days due to a coronavirus outbreak across several grade levels and classrooms, school officials announced on Tuesday.

A letter to families obtained by the Herald said a recent increase in coronavirus cases over the past week led the Boston Public Health Commission to recommend a closure.

“This is an active effort to immediately stop the spread and provide time to add staffing capacity to fully implement the test and stay and contact tracing programs,” read the letter from Principal Katie Grassa.

The school will close starting Wednesday and reopen on Nov. 22.

The health commission is advising those who have been to the school to isolate, avoid large groups and get tested regardless of vaccination status.

The district is still finalizing how kids will continue to learn during the 10-day closure and sent students home with Chromebooks. The school is also hosting a virtual community meeting to receive parent input.

The letter to families did not say how many positive cases have been identified at the school to date, but in a Friday email to parents, Grassa said 24 members of the school community had tested positive. That was a jump from four positive cases that were reported to families on Oct. 29.

A BPS dashboard tells a different story. It says there have been 14 cases at the Curley K-8 so far this year and 7 in the past week. The dashboard was updated as of Nov. 3.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/303owZQ