The Kent School District has closed a classroom at Covington Elementary School due to COVID-19, the second classroom closure in the district since students returned in late August.
The district reported the closure on its website that updates the status of each of the 43 schools. Covington Elementary is at 25811 156th Ave. SE. The district closed a Daniel Elementary School classroom, 11310 SE 248th St., on Sept. 8.
“As of Sept. 15, one classroom is closed and offering remote synchronous instruction,” according to the district dashboard. “Otherwise, the building is open and offering in-person instruction to students in the remaining classrooms. The school is contacting all impacted families of the closed classroom on Sept. 15. Close contacts have already been contacted by the school.”
The school district’s policy only releases the name of the school. The district does not report how many cases were in the classroom or the classroom grade. Closures typically will last for about 14 days and students from the classroom shift into remote learning.
District officials consult with Public Health — Seattle & King County to decide whether a classroom or school should be closed.
Closure policy
Closure of a classroom after consultation with Public Health will be considered when:
• Two or more students or staff in the same room/area test positive for COVID-19
• The cases have symptoms that start within 14 days of each other
• The cases are not associated with one another in another setting (household, club, etc.)
A COVID-19 outbreak in a school is considered when the following have been met:
• There are two or more COVID-19 cases among students or staff
• The cases have a symptom onset or positive test result within a 14-day period of each other
• The cases are epidemiologically linked
• The cases do not share a household
• The cases are not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during the investigation
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with school district closure policies.
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