Joel Barlow High School students were dismissed early today after a member of the community tested positive for COVID-19. ER9 Superintendent Dr. Rydell Harrison released the following statement:
Good afternoon ER9 families, faculty and staff,
This morning we were notified that a member of the JBHS community tested positive for COVID-19. The individual was last on campus on Wednesday, October 28. As mentioned in previous messages, each positive case presents unique challenges and we are currently contact tracing in collaboration with our local health director to determine the level of exposure for students and staff.
In order to identify and communicate with all close contacts, we instituted a short-term closure for all students and staff through Thursday, November 5th and all students were dismissed early. A close contact is defined as any individual (student or staff) who spent at least 15 minutes within six feet of a confirmed case or had direct exposure to droplets (e.g., cough, sneeze) of a positive case over the course of a 24 hour period. During this short-term closure, Joel Barlow High School will switch to a Distance Learning Platform for all students. It is anticipated that school will resume for cohort B and cohort D students on Friday, November 6, 2020.Â
The remainder of the letter reiterated the importance of following safety protocols, guidelines and procedures. This is a developing story.
