Four students at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh test positive for COVID-19
Four students at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh have tested positive for COVID-19, according to school officials.
Cardinal Gibbons, a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, opened the school year last week with in-person classes. In a letter to families Tuesday, Jeff Bell, the head of school, told parents that the four students who tested positive were last on campus on Aug. 19 and that it appears to be isolated cases and not a cluster.
“You will receive an additional notification to this letter if your student shared a class with one of the students who tested positive,” Bell said in the letter. “Our school nurse has contacted the Wake County Health Department who advised us that as long as other students and educators wore their masks and were not within six feet of the students inside for more than 15 minutes, there is no need for the students or educators to quarantine for 14 days.”
It was not immediately clear if any other students or employees are under quarantine. Cardinal Gibbons had 1,532 students and 148 teachers last school year, making it one of the largest private schools in North Carolina.
In Macon County, about 300 miles west of Raleigh, four of the district’s 11 schools switched from in-person classes to remote instruction because so many employees are quarantined. Health officials in that western North Carolina community told students and employees who were potentially exposed to stay at home for 14 days as a precaution.
Private schools reopen with in-person classes
The majority of North Carolina school districts began the school year on Aug. 17 with remote instruction. But many private schools opened with in-person classes.
Private schools aren’t required to follow the same state rules required for public schools that reopened. But the Diocese says it’s following the state’s Plan B for public school reopening, which includes daily temperature checks and requiring face coverings and social distancing requirements.
In the letter, Bell said all classrooms and spaces at Cardinal Gibbons are cleaned each night to the standard called for by the health department. Bell also said the infected students will not return to campus until cleared by a licensed medical professional.
Bell urged families to help with the efforts to keep students safe, especially now that many students from UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and East Carolina University are returning home. Those three universities switched to online classes because of multiple COVID-19 clusters on campus.
“Please continue to keep us apprised of any health issues or concerns in your home that may be COVID-related,” Bell said. “Also, if your student isn’t feeling well, err on the side of caution, and keep him/her home.
“And exercising extra caution is necessary if you have a college student who has just returned home to ensure our community is a place of comfort and security for all.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 12:13 PM.
