Warde, Ludlowe Closed Monday After Several New Coronavirus Cases

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield’s two public high schools are both closed for the second Monday in a row due to coronavirus contact tracing, the school district announced Sunday.

Students will learn remotely Monday while officials finish contact tracing after the district learned of several positive cases Sunday within Fairfield Warde and Fairfield Ludlowe high schools, according to a message from Superintendent Mike Cummings and COVID-19 Health and Safety Compliance Liaison Angelus Papageorge, which was shared on Facebook by Board of Education Secretary Jessica Gerber.

A similar situation arose a week earlier, when the district was notified of cases at Ludlowe, Warde, and Tomlinson Middle School, forcing all three buildings to close March 22. On Friday, Fairfield Woods Middle School went remote under similar circumstances.

Tracing for middle and high school virus cases is particularly challenging, as it requires the involvement of multiple teachers, according to Cummings and Papageorge.

“If we receive notification of a case during the evening, by the time we have assembled the list of close contacts, it may be too late to start calling families,” Cummings and Papageorge said in a message Friday. “In that case, we will switch to remote learning until we are able to determine who needs to quarantine and we can complete the contact tracing process. This is why it is so important that you contact your school as soon as you receive a positive test result.”

Students are required to quarantine if they spend 15 cumulative minutes over 24 hours within 6 feet of a person who tests positive for the virus.

As of Friday, 415 students and 20 staff members were in quarantine district-wide, according to district data. Those numbers are a significant increase over the 90 students and 14 staffers who were quarantined March 9, the day the district fully reopened for in-person learning. On Friday, 26 students and two staff members had recently tested positive.

Students who have coronavirus symptoms or are waiting for a test result must stay home, according to school officials. The district’s COVID-19 hotline is monitored 24/7 and can be reached at 203-255-8785.