More staffers at Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools test positive for the coronavirus
An undisclosed number of staff members at Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools tested positive for the coronavirus this week, superintendent Patrick Abele said in a press release Tuesday.
These are in addition to the coronavirus case involving a CHCCS staff member that was reported last week.
In the release, Abele said the positive cases did not involve anyone on the food preparation staff, a group that’s helping make and deliver meals to students in need. In order to make the process safer, Abele announced changes to the system.
“In an effort to mitigate the spread, and to protect our staff and volunteers from potential exposure, we are modifying our Food for Students initiative,” Abele wrote in the release.
Starting Tuesday, buses and bus drivers will not be used to deliver food. CHCCS will use volunteers to pick up meals at one or two hubs (Northside Elementary and McDougle Elementary) and bring them to sites to reduce the number of people involved.
“We will be working with additional partners to help support meal delivery to the community sites over the next two weeks,” Abele wrote. “We will keep in touch with our families who are depending on the feeding operation in case of additional changes to the schedule.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit North Carolina in March and Gov. Roy Cooper ordered schools closed until May 15, CHCCS has aimed to feed 2,000 students per day.
As of Tuesday morning, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services reported 6,951 positive coronavirus cases in the state.
Chapel Hill is part of Chatham, Durham and Orange counties. As of Tuesday morning, there were 718 cases of COVID-19 between the three counties. Carrboro is in Orange County, where there have been 189 positive cases. There have been eight deaths between the three counties, according to the DHHS.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
