All Fifth Graders In Quarantine At Greenwich School

GREENWICH, CT — All fifth graders at Julian Curtis School in Greenwich have been asked to quarantine for a week after a student tested positive for the coronavirus, according to district officials.

In a letter sent to families Monday, the school's principal, Patricia McGuire, and the district's head of nursing, Mary Keller, asked the entire fifth grade to stay home Tuesday to allow time for contact tracing. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Families received a second letter the following day, noting Keller and the town's health department had completed contact tracing and decided fifth graders at the school should remain quarantined for a week. They are currently scheduled to return to school Tuesday, Oct. 27.

"This quarantine is out of an abundance of caution and it has been determined that siblings of fifth graders do not need to quarantine," the letter reads.

Additionally, two classes at Old Greenwich School were asked to quarantine this week after students at the school tested positive for the virus.

In a letter sent to families Tuesday, the school's principal, Jen Bencivengo, along with the school's nurse, Joann Concepcion, and Keller, said both a third grader and a fourth grader had tested positive for the virus.

The two classes were asked to quarantine for two weeks, through Oct. 30, out of "an abundance of caution."

"At this time, all other [Old Greenwich School] students and staff may continue to attend school without restriction," the letter reads. "We will continue to keep the OGS community updated should there be any additional information to share."

The three new cases come days after positive cases of the virus were reported at Central Middle School and North Mianus School.

According to district spokesperson Jonathan Supranowitz, the number of students who have tested positive for the virus since the start of school in September has risen to 10 this week after factoring in the new cases.

"Within the Greenwich school district, we currently have 10 total active cases among students, staff and service providers," Supranowitz said. "We follow our guidelines and procedures very seriously, and they are proving to be effective."

Supranowitz also noted all 10 cases originated from non-school activities and exposure from individuals outside of school buildings.

"At the moment, we have not had a single additional positive case due to close contact within our schools, in part because of quarantining," Supranowitz said. "This is a safety mechanism designed to force students and staff to stay home and limit exposure."

As soon as district officials are alerted of a positive test or that someone has been in close contact with a person who tested positive for the virus, contact tracing is immediately conducted and officials remain vigilant in communicating with families and staff, Supranowitz said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, and according to both the Greenwich and Connecticut departments of public health, we implement immediate quarantining for all individuals that come in close contact with a positive case," Supranowitz said.

The district updates a tracker on its website every Friday, so it does not currently reflect the five new positive cases reported since Oct. 16.