Manassas' Colgan High School Has First Coronavirus 'Outbreak'

MANASSAS, VA – A Manassas high school has been added to the state's coronavirus outbreak list as defined by the Virginia Department of Public Health, which placed Charles J. Colgan, Sr., High School in the outbreak category last week nearly six weeks after the school reported positive cases to the state.

Parents with students in the school were made aware of the outbreak categorization on Tuesday when Principal Tim Healey emailed parents. In the letter, Healey said the outbreak designation is related to a positive coronavirus case within the school community in mid-December. School officials also alerted the community to the report of a confirmed case at the time.

Healey wrote in the letter Tuesday that Prince William Public School officials were recently notified that Colgan High School was added to the state’s list of those experiencing outbreaks in school settings. State health officials define an outbreak as “two or more laboratory-confirmed” cases among students and staff within a 14-day period. The definition also goes on to say that the cases "are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact-tracing.”

Citing privacy laws, a school spokeswoman declined to specify the details of the positive cases but said in an email to Patch that as outbreak can include as few as two individuals.

“As with every COVID-19 case, members of our pandemic team review our protocols to determine what improvements can be made,” spokeswoman Diana Gulotta wrote.

In the letter, Healey wrote:

"This outbreak is posted as an “outbreak pending closure” impacting less than five individuals. “Pending Closure” does NOT mean our school is pending closure. VDH defines Pending Closure as follows: if 28 days have passed without a documented new case and the outbreak has not yet been closed in Virginia Outbreak Surveillance System (VOSS). There may be delays in confirming the outbreak investigation is closed because the health department has to collect and process the data. This status only refers to the outbreak investigation pending closure in VOSS and not the facility closing."

As of Wednesday, Prince William County Schools have reported 783 positive cases of the coronavirus among students and staff in January. The number of cases has risen by nearly 460 since the end of December compared to only 50 positive cases at the end of September, according to the division’s coronavirus dashboard.

Prince William County Schools, which have reported more than 1,450 cases since September, is currently classified as a moderate to high risk, according to the dashboard. The division includes about 17,000 students that attend school, most of which attend two days a week.

According to safety protocols, students who attend in-person classes must wear face-coverings in classrooms, hallways and on buses.

As of Wednesday, 34,314 people in Prince William County have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and 295 people have died.