Lyndon Institute canceled in-person classes this week — and put sports on hold until Monday — after 14 people in the school community tested positive for Covid-19.
The spate of cases is being considered an outbreak by the state, Department of Health spokesperson Ben Truman said.
The cases are connected and were discovered Feb. 25, said Mike Lowe, the Lyndon school’s assistant head for advancement. Citing privacy rules, he declined to break down the cases between students and employees.
The initial case was followed by two more reported Feb. 28. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, school officials learned of seven more cases, according to a letter administrators sent out to the community. By Friday, school leaders had reported four more cases, bringing the total to 14.
Because of the growing case count and “the number of close contacts that reach out into the broader LI community,” the school decided to switch to remote learning Wednesday and Thursday this week, the letter said.
The school has a hybrid-learning model, and those days would have normally featured in-person classes, Lowe said. Friday was already slated for remote sessions.
Remote learning will continue next Monday and Tuesday. All sports games and practices have also been canceled until next Monday, when more details about the rest of the winter sports season will be revealed.
The initial case was discovered one day after a hockey game between Lyndon Institute and nearby St. Johnsbury Academy, according to the Caledonian Record. But the latter school has identified no cases related to the Lyndon outbreak, the paper reported.
St. Johnsbury Academy administrators didn’t return a call seeking comment Friday.
Lowe said his school has been talking to officials with the Department of Health about the outbreak.
In a letter Friday, school officials said the community would know by Monday if the switch to remote learning needs to be extended because of an increased case count or state requirements.
