BETHEL — Last week, Gould Academy Head of School Tao Smith announced that someone on campus had tested positive for coronavirus.
A statement from Gould said that testing and contact tracing had been performed and that the identified people were in quarantine. According to Gould, the case occurred during Gould’s break between the fall and winter trimesters, so it is believed exposure to the outside community was minimized.
The name of the infected individual was not released.
“We knew, given the numbers, that we would see a case on campus eventually,” said Smith. “But we prepared well. We are following our plan to prevent any spread in the community.”
It is believed that the individual did not contract the virus at Gould and there have been no other confirmed cases on campus, according to the statement.
This fall, Gould has given more than 1,000 coronavirus tests and has 25 percent of its community tested each week.
Last Thursday marked the start of Gould’s winter trimester.
Classes were held remotely last week and extracurricular activities were cancelled.
Gould also noted in its statement that, “The foundation of the school’s plan are the three pillars – masks, distancing, and hand hygiene. Other precautions the school has taken include increased sanitizing procedures, de-densifying mealtimes and classrooms (fewer students in class; some may be remote on certain days, even if they are on campus), and limiting travel,”
“The school has minimized community exposure by limiting the number of times students may leave campus during this school year. Those who leave campus for a non-essential reason are asked to study remotely until the next testing and intake period in January.”
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