Durham Public Schools closes 4 classrooms in 2 schools after positive COVID tests
Durham Public Schools has closed four classrooms in two schools after students and an adult tested positive for the coronavirus.
Three classrooms at Southwest Elementary School on Cook Road were closed after two students tested positive, according to an email from DPS spokesman Chip Sudderth.
The students in those classrooms, as well as students who rode the school’s Bus 185 Monday afternoon, will need to stay home for remote learning for 10 days.
In addition, a classroom at Club Boulevard Elementary School on West Club Boulevard has been closed and students moved to remote learning for 10 days after a support staff member tested positive there, Sudderth said Tuesday afternoon.
The school system is working with the Durham County Department of Public Health to contact anyone who may have come in close contact with the infected people, according to the email. People with questions about COVID-19 may call the health department at 919-635-8150.
The return of elementary school students Monday was the first time most students have had in-person instruction since March 2020, The News & Observer reported.
DPS is offering four days of in-person instruction to elementary students, and will soon offer in-person classes to middle and high school students under new state legislation.
The district’s specialty high schools will resume in-person instruction Thursday. Middle schools and remaining high schools will start April 8.
Students in grades 6 through 12 will be assigned to three groups of students that will rotate for two consecutive days between in-person and remote instruction on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, The N&O reported.
Wednesdays will be designated as a “wellness day” for everyone, with students completing assignments at home.
The school board approved the reopening plan by a 5-2 vote last month. It had previously voted to keep learning remote for most students for the rest of the school year.
DPS provides a running update of coronavirus cases and positive tests among employees and students coming into schools on its COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
As of March 13, the latest date for which data was available, five DPS staff members had tested positive for the virus this month, including one diagnosed last week, according to the dashboard.
In February, 14 staffers and three students tested positive, the dashboard showed.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 8:19 AM.