September 21, 2021
Dear Students, Families, and Staff,
This letter is to provide updated case information. Close contacts have been notified. Individuals associated with these schools/programs have tested positive for COVID-19:
One individual from Noble Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19. Noble Middle School is now considered in “outbreak status” per the CDC.
Now that we are a few weeks into the school year we are noticing some trends. First, the identification of Close Contacts is different this year from last year which makes things a bit more complicated. See the below summary:
Due to the fact that there is universal masking across all of the district schools, students identified as close contacts in the classroom setting may continue to attend classes but need to quarantine outside of the academic portion of the day. That includes school sponsored activities and community events/outings.
Close contacts identified from the cafeteria need to quarantine for 10 days from school and community events/outings.
Students identified as close contacts on the bus, within a 6ft. radius of the individual with the positive COVID-19 diagnosis, must quarantine from school and the community for 10 full days. Masking/face coverings on all public transportation is a federal mandate.
The trend we are noticing is that the numbers of classroom close contacts, for the most part, have been smaller than those numbers on the bus. More and more families are opting, when possible, to drive their student to and from school to avoid quarantining due to being identified as a close contact on the bus.
Finally, students identified as close contacts who are vaccinated do not need to be quarantined for community events/activities, classroom, bus, or cafeteria areas or school events (including athletics).
This chart below simplifies the above information for a student identified as a close contact:
Maine School Administrative District #60 fully understands the ongoing frustration parents/families are feeling based on the shift of guidelines from last year to this year. Everyone was hopeful that this pandemic would lessen over the summer months so that school districts did not need to identify and quarantine close contacts. While we understand, and share frustration, we do need to follow mandates and requirements. We assure you that the entire nursing staff and administration is doing their best to keep up with the volume and timely notification.
Thank you,
Audra Beauvais
Superintendent of Schools