PERU — Dirigo Elementary School in Peru has been identified by the state as a COVID-19 outbreak site with six positive cases, Superintendent Pam Doyen said in a letter to students, families and the community.
The cases include four students and two staff members, Doyen said Wednesday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention school outbreaks are defined as three or more confirmed cases from different households within 14 days.
On Dec. 9 Regional School Unit 56 had three or four cases.
As of last week, district officials decided to close its three schools in Peru and Dixfield for in-person learning for the third time since September.
District personnel have been working with CDC case managers and with a CDC outbreak investigator, Doyen said.
“When they look at our framework and what we are doing they are very clear that we’re doing everything that we should be doing,” she said.
Mask-wearing, social distancing, one-way traffic in buildings, smaller cohorts and no sharing staff among buildings will continue, Doyen said.
One recent change by the CDC is a phone line dedicated for school administrators to talk 24/6 with an adviser about coronavirus.
The district plans to reopen its buildings for in-person instruction Jan. 4.
Doyen has sent messages to staff and students asking them to stay home if they travel out of state or if they have any symptoms of illness, she said.
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