School closed after Plymouth high schooler tests positive for COVID-19

PLYMOUTH — Plymouth Regional High School closed early on Thursday after the district was made aware of a student’s positive COVID-19 test. The school will remain closed until Tuesday.

In a statement posted to the district’s website on Thursday morning, Kyla Welch, superintendent of SAU 48, said that school was already scheduled to be closed on Friday, for a professional development day, and Monday, in observance of Columbus Day.

“The long weekend will allow time for Plymouth Regional High School to receive a deep cleaning to ensure the safety of all students and staff,” Welch wrote in the announcement.

In an interview on Thursday, Welch said that if in-person instruction had been scheduled for Friday and Monday, she would have likely switched to remote learning for up to five days in order to clean and effect contact tracing.

SAU 48 reported the test result to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which is working with the district to identify students and school employees who were within six feet of the infected student for more than 10 minutes. Those people will be contacted by DHHS and will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days and to get a test for COVID-19.

On Thursday, Welch said that contact tracing had, by that point at least, shown a limited exposure to the infected student. No teachers needed to quarantine, she said, “only a handful of students.” Welch said she couldn’t reveal which grade the student was in, though she said he or she hadn’t attended school since Monday.

Anyone who experiences coronavirus symptoms – fever, chills, aches, loss of taste or smell, or respiratory symptoms – is asked to stay home and get a test.

Welch’s statement said that all athletic practices, after-school and co-curricular activities for PRHS have been canceled for Oct. 8-10, however, the district is still evaluating whether outdoor games will be played on Oct. 9 and 10. Welch said she expects to make an decision regarding outdoor games on Friday morning.

Other schools within SAU 48 will remain open.

Welch said that within 20 minutes of receiving the news of the positive test, administrators were communicating with staff. Another 20 minutes later and parents were notified that their children would be dismissed mid-morning. The developments of the day were unexpected, but not entirely surprising, she said.

“I think we’ve been clear in saying that, at some point, we thought we would have a positive case,” Welch said in the interview. “Of course, folks are a little bit worried, but I think parents handled it really well, and the bus company responded quickly.”

In her written statement, Welch wrote: “The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. To ensure the safety of our entire community we will follow the CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting… Thank you for your patience and understanding.”