50 Greenwich High School Students, 3 Teachers Asked To Quarantine

GREENWICH, CT — Three teachers and 50 students at Greenwich High School have been asked to quarantine for two weeks after a student tested positive for the coronavirus, according to district officials.

In a letter sent to families, Superintendent Toni Jones and Mary Keller, the district's head of nursing, said they were informed Wednesday a student in the school's Greenwich cohort had tested positive for the virus.

The student, who was last in school Tuesday, was exposed to the virus during a non-school sponsored sporting event, according to the letter. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

After "thorough contact tracing" was conducted, 50 students and three teachers were asked to quarantine for two weeks.

Jones and Keller also reminded families to contact their school's nurse or principal immediately if they are told their child has potentially been exposed to the virus.

"Failure to abide by quarantine guidelines puts other students, families and staff members at significant risk," the letter reads. "Quarantining will help stop the spread of this serious virus and help to keep our schools safe."

In a statement sent to Patch, Jones emphasized district officials were in "constant contact" with local health officials and consistently monitoring statistics regarding the virus in the region.

"The safety and well-being of our staff and faculty is our utmost priority," Jones said, "and we are prepared to adjust if and when it becomes necessary."

She also emphasized the importance of families following safety guidelines when students are not in school.

"It has been proven that our schools are some of the safest locations for our children to be in, but we rely on their families and parents to follow safety guidelines during after-school hours and on weekends," Jones said. "We continue to keep our lines of communication open, reminding everyone to complete their daily health checklists and follow quarantine protocols. Ultimately, we listen to the medical professionals, which includes the [state Department of Public Health], who have publicly stated that schools should remain open, as transmission across Connecticut is typically not happening in schools."

Earlier this week, district spokesperson Jonathan Supranowitz confirmed over 100 students across four schools in town were recently asked to quarantine after some students tested positive for the virus.

Those asked to quarantine included 25 students and two staff members at Eastern Middle School, 25 students and one faculty member at Greenwich High School, the entire third grade at the International School at Dundee and 24 students at Western Middle School

On Monday, Board of Education chair Peter Bernstein said he and his fellow board members have noticed the number of students in Greenwich being asked to quarantine increase over the past month.

"We have certainly been watching the trends moving in the wrong direction as there has been an uptick in new cases," Bernstein said. "It serves as a stark reminder that we need to remain vigilant as a community and ensure that our students observe proper social distancing and mask wearing, whether at school or during non-school activities. Quarantines are just another essential tool to further prevent spreading of the virus."