COVID outbreak forces Cardinal Gibbons High School to suspend in-person classes
One of North Carolina’s largest private schools is suspending in-person classes for the next two weeks due to a round of new COVID-19 cases.
In a letter sent Thursday to families, Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh announced that it will switch to all remote learning through Feb. 5. Jeff Bell, the head of the school, said the decision to suspend in-person learning was made on the recommendation of the Wake County Health Department after receiving three more positive COVID cases: two students and an office educator.
In the letter, Bell said health officials are concerned about the virus spreading within the community because there’s been virus transmission between Cardinal Gibbons and another school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. The state’s updated school cluster report on Friday listed Our Lady of Lourdes School in Raleigh with six COVID cases: five students and one staff.
Cardinal Gibbons is part of the Diocese and had 1,532 students and 148 teachers last school year, making it one of the largest private schools in North Carolina.
“I know that this is incredibly disappointing to all of us,” Bell said in the letter. “Our time on campus is so precious and valuable. I am incredibly proud of our community for the care and concern that we have shown one another.
“It is unfortunate that we have to stay off campus for these next two weeks, but, as always, we put the health and safety of our community first and are following the health department’s recommendations.”
School has reported multiple COVID cases
Cardinal Gibbons opened the school year in August offering in-person instruction. In late August, Bell told families that 11 coronavirus cases had been associated with the school, The News & Observer previously reported.
Back in August, Bell said the county health department had not recommended closing the school. But he said that could change in the future if multiple cases are found to have been contracted on campus.
All in-person school events have been canceled, except for Friday’s cross country state race and the volleyball state championship on Saturday. Bell said the school had received permission from the N.C. High School Athletic Association to play.
The swim, cheer and dance team coaches will be in touch with their athletes regarding the rest of their season, according to Bell.
Cardinal Gibbons students are scheduled to return to in-person classes on Feb. 9. Feb. 8 was a previously scheduled day off.
The school’s pause on face-to-face classes comes as the Wake County school system has suspended in-person classes through at least mid-February. Many public school districts across the state have also temporarily suspended in-person classes due to the recent rise in COVID cases.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 12:06 PM.
