Union Elementary School in Montpelier went all-remote Friday after a seventh person connected to the school tested positive for the coronavirus.
“This is tremendously difficult news to deliver. Tomorrow the entire school of UES will be going virtual to give families and staff a chance to take a breath,” Superintendent Libby Bonesteel wrote in a message to the school community on Thursday evening.
School officials had previously reported six cases, all confined to one classroom. But the most recent case was in a different grade level and instructional pod, Education Secretary Dan French said Friday during the governor’s twice-weekly press conference.
The Union Elementary cases have been cited by health officials as the first case of in-school transmission of the virus. They have also been linked to an expanding outbreak originating at a Montpelier ice rink, where cases now total 43.
French also announced Friday that updated health guidance will be released shortly and will go into effect in mid-November, giving schools time to adjust.
“The changes could be described as a general tightening of some of the required precautions in anticipation of the cold weather and moving more activities inside,” he said.
Currently, schools require a daily health check to ensure people do not have symptoms of the virus before entering a school building. The updated guidance will require the health check to screen students and staff for adherence to the state’s travel restrictions.
Guidelines now require a minimum of 3 feet of social distancing in schools from pre-K through grade five, and 6 feet of distancing in other grades. New protocols will allow schools to let sixth graders to also distance using the 3-foot rule, instead of the 6-foot one. Updated guidelines, however, will no longer allow using plexiglass barriers to reduce social distancing requirements.
State officials on Tuesday said there have been 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in K-12 schools since the beginning of the year, not counting five probable cases that are under investigation by the Health Department. The Union Elementary case, and a new case reported Thursday by Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, should add to the tally, but state officials said Friday they did not yet have an updated statewide total.
“I can’t give you an exact number right now. Although I can tell you we aren’t adding in large numbers of students at any given time. We’re talking about a student here and a student or two there,” Health Commissioner Mark Levine said.
Levine added that the state will also begin releasing its weekly K-12 update on Covid-19 cases within schools on Tuesday, instead of Monday, so it can include vetted testing data reported over the weekend.
Mounting research evidence continues to suggest that young children are not important drivers of community transmission. But public health experts have said schools reflect wider conditions within the community, and the state’s overall case counts, which are increasing significantly, are beginning to concern state officials, who are warning Vermonters not to let pandemic fatigue allow them to lower their guard.
