Southington Officials Addressing Virus Instance At Local School

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Education officials in Southington are taking measures to address a positive coronavirus test at local school.

According to a letter sent Friday by Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connellan, school officials identified the case and said it involved an "individual associated with the district" at John F. Kennedy Middle School.

Here is an excerpt from Connellan's letter:

"[Friday] morning, the district and the local Health Department initiated a case investigation at John F. Kennedy Middle School including contact tracing activities to identify all individuals who may have been in close contact with the case. Individuals identified as close contacts will be notified directly and advised of appropriate quarantine procedures.

"We are committed to maintaining a safe environment for students and staff and will proactively apply the appropriate response and mitigation strategies. Consistent with the statewide protocol, quarantine strategies have been applied as appropriate in this situation and the appropriate families notified. This situation will be monitored closely in conjunction with local public health officials."

School officials did dot identify the person as either a student or staff member, citing privacy laws. Those with a laboratory-confirmed instance of the virus are referred to as "cases" and those who have spent at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of a confirmed case or who have had a direct exposure to the virus are called "contacts."