BELLVILLE, NY —Â On December 17, 2020, the Belleville Henderson Central School District received notification of two presumed cases of COVID-19 involving students within the District. A member of their household has tested positive for COVID-19 and the two District students are exhibiting symptoms.
The District shifted to remote learning for today, December 18, to allow for time to communicate with Jefferson County Public Health and discuss contact tracing. Public Health has communicated with the District that a total of 19 students and 10 staff members may be required to quarantine.
Due to the potential number of students and staff who may need to be placed in quarantine, the District will shift to remote learning for all students for Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22.
Wednesday, December 23 will be a remote learning day as previously scheduled.
This will give Public Health the necessary time to complete the contact tracing required for this case.
For those individuals who are placed in quarantine, the Christmas Holiday Break will encompass the required 14 days.
Students and staff should be able to return to school on Monday, January 4, 2021
Pursuant to the District Reopening Plan, the affected areas are being thoroughly disinfected. Masking and social distance protocols remain in place. Due to the recent uptick in cases in the region, students are now being required to wear masks at all times. Also, teachers will be opening windows for short periods of
time throughout the day to promote additional fresh air.
We are releasing this information for transparency purposes. However, the District is not permitted to release any additional information at this time to protect the privacy rights of students & staff. The health and safety of students, teachers, staff, and the surrounding community remains the District’s top priority at this time.