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This story was updated at 7:37 p.m.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union is closing its six schools until further notice after an individual from Ludlow presumptively tested positive for COVID-19.
Superintendent Meg Alison Powden announced the closure Saturday, shortly after the Health Department announced three new positive cases in the state.
The decision to close the schools in the southern Vermont district came as Health Commissioner Mark Levine told lawmakers that, with hundreds of COVID-19 test results coming in, this is a “key weekend” for gathering data needed to determine when to close K-12 schools across the state.
“I think that the population may have lost the understanding that this is not an if, it’s a when,” he told the Joint Rules Committee via conference call Saturday.
Black River High School Middle School, Cavendish Town Elementary School, Chester-Andover Elementary School, Green Mountain Union School, Ludlow Elementary School and Mount Holly School will be closed until further notice, Powden announced in a letter to the supervisory union community.
Only certain staff members, including the administration, school nurses and maintenance personnel can enter the school buildings. The campuses will be closed to students and teachers.
“Given what I know about this situation, and after being in conversation with a nurse from the Vermont Department of Health and Secretary [Dan] French of the Agency of Education, I have decided to close our schools until further notice,” Powden wrote.
The Health Department did not identify any individual who tested positive with the illness as from Ludlow, though Powden cited the location of the case as a reason for the closure. The three new cases announced Saturday included a second homeowner from Westchester, New York who is being treated a Springfield Hospital; a 90-year-old Windsor County resident being treated at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in White River Junction; and a Washington County resident who is in home isolation. The cases are presumed positive based on test results from the state lab, but are pending confirmation by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The closure of the state’s K-12 schools has been a point of concern for many as the outbreak of the new coronavirus has grown in Vermont.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D-Chittenden, said during the legislative meeting that lawmakers have been receiving “nervous communications” from parents about when the governor will move to shutdown schools.
“And I think there’s voices saying it would be better to just make the call now rather than in a moment of panic,” he said.
Levine said that state epidemiologists, in conjunction with the CDC, are closely monitoring the testing data to determine what the “moment of most impact” will be to close schools. The state has processed 227 negative and five positive tests to-date, with 100 of those results coming in on Friday.
Short-term, early closures appear to do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while slightly delayed, longer term closures have more of an impact, said Levine.
The department is “watching the growth in the epidemic curve to see if this is indeed the right time to act boldly and quickly as opposed to watchful waiting,” he added.
Levine also said that the Williston school closures highlighted the potential impact statewide school closures could have on the healthcare workforce.
“We are really concerned that the parents who in their work life act as part of the healthcare workforce will end up being home to take care of their kids,” he said. Levine added that this would be a concern no matter when schools are closed.
In a letter to school administrators and board members Saturday, French, the education secretary, urged local schools to “plan for the possibility of the prolonged, preemptive” closures.
However, he called for school closured to be “coordinated” and based on science about what will be most effective.
He emphasized that the Department of Health has recommended against school closures at this time, and said that closures could impact the ability of healthcare workers to go to work and deprive students of support they need through schools. The Scott administration has echoed CDC guidance that early and short-term school closures will not stem the spread of the disease.
“A coordinated approach to school closure – and it will likely be necessary to have school closures as part of the overall response – is essential to ensuring these closures are as effective as possible in mitigating the impact of the virus,” French wrote. “We must not let fear lead to decisions that impair the ability of the healthcare system to prepare and respond, or to decisions that leave some students behind.”
On Sunday, the committee will hear from French.
Elizabeth Hewitt contributed reporting.
