Dear WSD Families, Staff, and Community,
December 1, 2020 – I am writing to let you know that a member of our learning community has a probable positive case of COVID-19. While we hoped that everyone in our district would stay healthy and COVID-free, we expected that this might eventually happen and prepared with a plan to respond to this situation.
Earlier this afternoon, the WSD COVID-19 Co-Coordinators, Liz Parris and Katharine Monje, members of the WSD Leadership Team, and I met with the Vermont Department of Health (VDH). They shared information about the person with the positive case.
The WSD COVID-19 Co-Coordinators, in collaboration with the VDH contact tracing team, will follow up with all potentially close contacts. Please answer the phone if the VDH or the WSD COVID-19 Co-Coordinators contact you. A contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. If you are not contacted by December 3, it is because you and/or your child are not a close contact.
We recommend that you take action to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The most important things you and your child can do:
- Make sure you wear a mask at all times.
- Always practice proper hand hygiene.
- Stay home if you are sick.
- Do not mingle with people from other households or travel outside Vermont per Governor Scott’s Executive Order.
- Call your primary care provider if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
- Learn more about getting tested in Vermont.
We are working with the Health Department to keep our community safe.
Our response continues to follow VDH guidance. The WSD custodial crew has cleaned and disinfected the areas where the infected person might have been in our facilities. Any employees and sick students will not return to the WSD until they are healthy. As always, the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families is our top priority. At this point, it has not been deemed necessary that we close our schools.
Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. We ask our community for compassion and understanding for all who may be impacted by this virus. Together, we can maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for all Winooski students.
If you have any questions, please call the COVID-19 hotline: 802-556-2243.
Many thanks,
Sean McMannon, Superintendent