Tumwater School District’s Littlerock Elementary has suspended in-person learning until Oct. 14 because of an outbreak of COVID-19, the superintendent announced Friday.
Sean Dotson’s message to families has been posted on the Littlerock Elementary website.
“As directed by Thurston County Public Health and Social Services, we are suspending in-person instruction until Oct. 14 due to positive COVID-19 cases and an extraordinarily high number of students absent and experiencing symptoms or quarantined due to exposure,” his message reads.
The state Department of Health defines an “outbreak” as two or more students or staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19, who are linked through a shared location, like a classroom or school bus, and did not have significant contact outside of the school grounds, Dotson explains.
“If your child is identified as a close contact, the county will contact you to let you know if — or how long — your child needs to quarantine at home,” he writes.
Close contact is defined in the following ways:
▪ Close contact definition in K-12 classroom: Students who were wearing a face covering and were within 3 feet of another student with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes over 24 hours.
▪ Close contact definition anywhere else at school and between students and adults: Someone within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes over 24 hours.
If you do not receive a phone call from the county or our school, then your child does not meet the close contact criteria. No further action is required, Dotson writes.
“We understand this news can be unsettling and that you will have many questions. The county has additional COVID-19 information on its website: https://www.thurstoncountywa.agov/phss/coronavirus. Our priority is to protect the health and safety of our students and staff, including your child.”
He says teachers will be contacting families about remote learning during the closure.
