#Ohio school moves classes online after principal, teacher test positive for COVID-19

An Ohio elementary school switched to remote learning after a principal and a teacher tested positive for the coronavirus, district officials said.

The principal at Hopkins Elementary in Mentor was tested Saturday, one day after she began feeling symptoms of the virus and days after being at the school and in communal learning spaces last week, WJW reports.

The principal, identified on the school’s website as Christine Miley, is now recovering at home while quarantined, district officials said in a statement.

Mentor Schools Superintendent Bill Porter also confirmed that a teacher at the school had tested positive for the virus, while two others who have reported symptoms are now awaiting test results, WKYC reports.

“We immediately called the Lake County General Health District, and they will be conducting contact tracing,” Porter said in a letter to parents. “Anyone who is considered to be directly exposed would hear from public health workers directly.”

As a result of the positive tests, the school held classes remotely Tuesday and Wednesday, although the latter was already scheduled as a day for remote instruction, WKYC reports.

Students at the school, which reopened on Sept. 2, had just three days of in-person classes before the COVID-19 cases forced administrators to move instruction online, NBC News reports.

Middle schools and high schools in the district, however, opened Tuesday for in-person classes as scheduled, a district spokeswoman said in a statement.

“We continue to work closely with the Lake County General Health District to determine if it’s appropriate to come back to school on Thursday,” MPS spokeswoman Kristen Kirby said. “At this point, we don’t know if the cases are connected or not.”

District officials said the school is also being disinfected, The News-Herald reports.

“As you know, we are facing a global health crisis due to the spread of the COVID-19 and our community is no exception,” Porter said in a letter to parents.

“Please continue to work together to limit the spread of the virus by following important mitigation guidelines that are in place.”