Brooklyn School Moves Students To All Remote Learning After Staff Members Test Positive For COVID-19
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- CBS2's Marcia Kramer has learned PS K811 Connie Lekas School in Brooklyn will move to remote learning for two weeks after five staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
The school serves about 340 students in grades 6 through 12 and is located on Haring Street in Sheepshead Bay.
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A New York City Dept. of Education spokesperson sent the following statement to Kramer:
We won't hesitate to take quick action for the health and safety of our school communities, and that's exactly what we did when multiple positive cases amongst staff members were identified at PS K811. [Department of Mental Health and Hygiene] quickly conducted an investigation and out of an abundance of caution, the school will operate remotely for 14 days. The school community will be quarantined and learning will not be interrupted for students, and we encourage everyone to get tested before we reopen on October 14th.
Officials are urging all staff and students to get tested.
LINK: CLICK HERE for a list of testing sights for NYC students and teachers
The announcement comes days days after public middle and high schools opened for in-person learning on Oct. 1.
The school's principal, Antionette Rose, sent a notice to parents on Oct. 1, saying:
As you know, this week, two or more members of our school community tested positive for COVID-19 within seven days of each other. After investigating, finding a link between the cases, and quarantining those identified as close contacts, the building was reopened. Today, however, an additional member of our staff tested positive.
Based on the preliminary investigation and tracing, there is reason to believe this case is linked to previous cases. However, out of an abundance of caution, the building will be closed tomorrow 10/2/2020. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the NYC Test and Trace Corps (NYC Health) will continue the investigation. I ask that every member of the staff be prepared to speak with the NYC health investigator in the coming days.
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