Middlesex Elementary staffer tests positive for COVID-19

Five students and two staff members quarantined

by Larry Chowning –      

A Middlesex County Public School (MCPS) employee has tested positive for COVID-19, according to MCPS Superintendent Peter Gretz.     

Dr. Gretz informed the school community via email Sunday that school officials were informed over the weekend that a Middlesex Elementary School (MES) staff member tested positive with COVID-19 and five students and two staff members have been quarantined.

“In an abundance of caution, the classroom in which this individual works will be quarantined while we wait for the Three Rivers Health District (TRHD) to complete contact tracing and provide further instruction,” said Dr. Gretz.

The individual (with COVID-19) has not been in the school building since Tuesday, he said. “I want to keep you (community) as informed as possible so we are able to navigate this situation in the safest, healthiest, and most efficient way possible.

“Additionally, TRHD has expressed continued confidence in our health guidelines and recommends that MES remain open.

“We have prepared for this type of situation, and the following immediate action has been taken:

• “We have made the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and TRHD aware of the positive case, and they are actively initiating contact tracing procedures.
• “Additionally, our administrative team has proactively worked to preliminarily identify students and staff members who may have had “close contact” with the individual. Our administrative team has contacted all students and staff who we have preliminarily identified as potentially being in close contact. If you have not been contacted directly by phone by an MES administrator, we do not believe your student was in close contact with the infected individual(s) at any time.