Health & Fitness
Simmons Elementary Student Tested Negative For Coronavirus
The student at Simmons Elementary School in Horsham was exposed last week, causing the school to be shut down since Tuesday.
HORSHAM, PA — An elementary-school student whose exposure to a doctor with the new coronavirus caused Simmons Elementary School to shut down earlier this week has tested negative for the virus, school officials said.
The Hatboro-Horsham School District announced the student's negative test Friday afternoon, as word was spreading that all Pennsylvania schools will be closed for the next two weeks to help curb the spread of the virus, known as COVID-19.
Gov. Tom Wolf had ordered schools in Montgomery County, which has been a relative coronavirus hot spot in Pennsylvania, closed for two weeks on Thursday.
Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Simmons student had shown cold and flu-like symptoms after the exposure to a doctor at Children's Healthcare of Philadelphia's facility in King of Prussia. The school has been closed since Tuesday as a precaution.
Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Now, all of Hatboro-Horsham's schools will be closed until March 30.
"We hope all our students, staff, and families are gracefully coming to terms with what will be an unusual and disrupted next few weeks," said Superintendent Curtis Griffin.
The district plans to announce a plan for using online resources to engage students during the break by Monday. The plans will start with general strategies for keeping students engaged and be followed with more structured learning experiences, the district said Friday.
The district has created a coronavirus information page to keep families informed during the outbreak.
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