UPDATED: Mepham High School to reopen Dec. 4 following Covid-19 contact tracing

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In an email sent to Wellington C. Mepham High School families Thursday afternoon, Principal Eric Gomez said the school would reopen for in-person instruction on Dec. 4 after officials completed contact tracing for an unknown number of positive Covid-19 cases that were reported by parents overnight.

Because school administrators were notified of the cases late Wednesday evening, contact tracing could not be completed in time to open school on Thursday, according to an initial email from Gomez and Superintendent John DeTommaso. Students learned remotely on Thursday, as a result, but will be able to attend class in person on Friday.

At the Board of Education’s monthly meeting — which was held via Zoom — on Wednesday night, DeTommaso said the district’s administrative teams begin contact tracing 48 hours from the time someone starts showing symptoms.

In addition to monitoring seating charts, busing and carpools, “School personnel are contact tracing what’s happening outside of school, but it becomes a little more challenging to monitor events that happen off campus,” he said. “One of the reasons why you might see schools temporarily close is because we cannot open schools without knowing the potential for spread — this is critical.”

DeTommaso also urged families to remain diligent about mask-wearing and social distancing over the next several weeks. “We need to continue to work together about what’s happening outside of school to continue to do the things we’re doing in school,” he said. “We’re asking people to be aware and be careful.”