Two students confirmed positive; all positive cases have been isolated and known close contacts have been quarantined
Contacts
SUMMIT COUNTY – The Summit County Public Health Department, in coordination with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Summit School District, is investigating an outbreak of COVID-19 at Breckenridge Elementary School. Three confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported among a teacher and two students.
"Summit School District has implemented extensive protocols to reduce the risk of transmission among students and staff,” Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland said. "Despite this outbreak, schools remain one of the most protective environments for our children. We are urging community members to avoid gatherings with other households and to get tested to help slow the spread of the virus and keep our schools open"
Summit County Public Health has a dedicated team of contact tracers that works directly with Summit School District to monitor for outbreaks, isolate students and staff who test positive, perform contact tracing for close contacts and quarantine individuals who have come in close contact with positive cases. The goals of the partnership are to keep schools open, minimize the potential for outbreaks, isolate and address any outbreaks that do occur and prevent further spread of COVID-19 within the school district.
The individuals were tested after developing symptoms and Public Health received the positive test results on Nov. 3.
“We are concerned about the individuals who have tested positive, and we hope that they recover quickly,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marion Smith, Jr. “We are also working closely with local public health to make sure we are being actionable in keeping other staff and scholars safe.”
The outbreak investigation remains in progress. The positive cases have been placed in isolation, and all close contacts identified thus far have been placed under quarantine. Staff and scholars in other cohorts at Breckenridge Elementary School and other schools are not affected as a whole and will continue instruction according to their schedule. At this time, no scholars or additional staff members have been impacted by this outbreak.
Parents should monitor their children for COVID-19 symptoms, and if they develop, keep children at home and schedule a test immediately at a free community location by calling 970-668-5584.
Additional recommendations for parents can be found on the Summit School District website.
Information on the contact tracing process in schools is available on the Summit County website. Find information on free COVID-19 testing in Summit County.
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