SAUGUS — Saugus’s Middle-High School has been notified of its first positive case of COVID-19 within the school community, Superintendent David DeRuosi announced Friday.
In an email to parents, DeRuosi said the district was prepared to handle virus cases, adding that school officials were currently in the process of following a comprehensive, predetermined action plan that included sanitizing the school, informing families of students who may have been exposed, and providing support to the affected party.
Although the district was unable to report whether it was a student or faculty member who had contracted the virus, DeRuosi’s email explained that parents of exposed students would be notified privately.
“Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe,” DeRuosi said, adding that the administration will collaborate with the local Board of Health to complete necessary contact tracing. “We are working hard to understand the impact of the virus on our school community, and this information is a critical piece of that puzzle.”
Following notification, all close contacts will be asked to take a COVID test and self-quarantine for 14 days, and parents of tested students have been asked to report all findings to the school nurse.
With the exception of roughly 90 special education students in grades pre-K through 12 who attend in-person classes twice a week, the majority of students have yet to return to Saugus schools, with the town’s school committee voting 3-2 last week to postpone the district’s return to its brick-and-mortar buildings until at least January 2021.
Educators have been teaching their classes remotely from inside the building since Sept. 16.
Committee member Arthur Grabowski, who voted in favor of the postponement after citing concern that there would be a rise in cases around the holiday season, said the diagnosis solidified his belief that his board made the right decision.
“I think staying remote was the right choice,” he said. “We’re responsible for over 3,000 people in our school district, and I just don’t want to see an outbreak. (This incident) makes me want to err on the side of caution, and I just hope it’s not a harbinger of things to come.”
The superintendent’s email stated that remote learning options will be provided to all students required to quarantine at home.
“We have been sharing remote learning options with students in advance of our first positive case in hopes that they will understand that this process is designed to keep everyone in our community safe, as opposed to assuming that they have contracted the virus,” he said.
For more details on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, families can visit the COVID-19 informational page on mass.gov.
Those with additional concerns are asked to reach out to Sandra Moynihan, RN at [email protected].
