Covid-19 outbreak reported at Boston Latin School

Boston Latin School notified parents contiguous of a caller spike successful Covid-19 cases - 36 implicit the past week, with astir of them being reported conscionable today.

The timing, close earlier Christmas break, astatine least, is fortuitous: Last month, BPS and metropolis wellness officials shut the Curley School successful Jamaica Plain pursuing an outbreak there.

In an e-mail, BLS Head of School Rachel Skerritt wrote:

The uptick and clustering of affirmative cases successful conscionable the past 2 days is highly concerning. There are 36 caller cases reported this week, with the bulk of those reported conscionable today. Many of these cases are the effect of unmasked oregon improperly masked interaction betwixt students extracurricular of schoolhouse time, including play societal events and interaction amongst immoderate of our diversion teams. Most of our cases this week person progressive students successful the precocious grades. Very fewer of our cases to day this twelvemonth person been from schoolroom transmission, which speaks to the effectiveness of disguise usage and ventilation. We are successful progressive connection with BPS Health Services arsenic good arsenic the Boston Public Health Commission and further BPS departments to guarantee that identified clusters and patterns are being addressed.

Skerritt continued that "each of our actions, some wrong and extracurricular of these walls, affects each of us," and urged parents to instrumentality a fig of steps implicit the coming Christmas break:

Keep students location if they show immoderate symptoms, adjacent if mild, specified arsenic a sore throat, oregon if they explicit concerns astir anterior vulnerability and bash not person symptoms. Most of our affirmative cases person exhibited lone insignificant symptoms, peculiarly successful our students who are afloat vaccinated. Please beryllium vigilant. Students who request to miss school, including tomorrow, December 23, volition person an excused lack if the genitor oregon guardian completes the online pupil lack form. All students with an excused lack volition person afloat constitution privileges for immoderate duty oregon appraisal that they miss, and volition not beryllium penalized successful immoderate way. If you are awaiting trial results owed to known contact, err connected the broadside of caution and enactment home.

Limit vulnerability implicit the wintertime interruption to those extracurricular of your household. We cognize that galore families are going done extended information measures to guarantee that they tin walk clip with relatives, including PCR investigating and quarantine. What we peculiarly caution against is unmasked societal clip among students, careless of vaccination status. I person received messages from parents and students acrophobic astir students’ behaviour during times (such arsenic the weekend) wherever we cannot power students’ and families’ choices. I americium asking for your assistance arsenic parents, guardians, and students to marque the pugnacious calls arsenic we spot a surge successful cases crossed the Commonwealth and country. I americium mounting those aforesaid expectations for myself and my family, arsenic good arsenic our module and staff.

Also, students should prevention 1 of the 2 Covid-19 location tests they got contiguous for Jan. 3, the time earlier schoolhouse re-opens. Students crossed the BPS territory were sent location with akin instructions for the kits they got.

This volition assistance bounds the fig of affirmative cases erstwhile we unfastened our doors adjacent calendar year.