All 5th Graders At Fairfield School To Go Remote After Virus Case

FAIRFIELD, CT — A coronavirus case at Dwight Elementary School has forced all fifth-grade classes into remote learning.

“Today, we have identified a positive case at Dwight Elementary School, requiring several
teachers to quarantine effective immediately,” Fairfield school district officials said Tuesday in a message to parents and staff.

“As a result, for the week of November 30, all grade 5 classes at Dwight will be remote, using the Instructional Plans for Emergency Closure schedule.”

Also Tuesday, officials reported two new cases at Fairfield Warde High School, as well as two cases within the district’s Remote Learning Academy and one case at the Early Childhood Center at Fairfield Warde.

In the past week, the district has recorded 32 new cases, 15 of which were reported Monday.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 25 students and six staff members across Fairfield Public Schools had the virus, according to district data. Another 96 students and 34 staffers had recovered after testing positive. In addition, 219 students and staff district-wide were in quarantine.

Tuesday’s numbers are comparable to virus data reported by the district a week ago.

At the town-wide level, too, it appears that while cases continue to increase, the amount of new cases week-over-week is not accelerating. From Nov. 16 to Nov. 23, Fairfield recorded 187 new cases, according to town data. Over the seven days before that, 236 cases were reported, and in the week preceding that, there were 279.

The town of Fairfield, like most Connecticut municipalities, is in the coronavirus red alert zone, with a rate of 49.3 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. As of Tuesday, 1,917 cases had been reported in Fairfield since the pandemic first reached Connecticut in March.