EASTON, Maine — Easton students will go back to in-person classes on Monday, Nov. 30, after a COVID-19 scare sent them out of the classroom last week.
The Easton School Department had dismissed students early on Thursday, Nov. 19, after the district said there were two probable cases of COVID-19 within the school. Though Easton said those individuals had shown symptoms of the coronavirus, tests came back negative in both cases, Superintendent Mark Stanley said Tuesday.
The reopening comes as COVID-19 cases rise across Maine and Aroostook County, a region relatively unspared by the virus since it came to Maine in March. The County saw an increase of 11 new cases from Sunday to Monday, according to Maine Center for Disease Control data released on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, SAD 45 based in Washburn said that a person associated with the school had been identified as having a probable case of COVID-19.
SAD 45 Students — whose last day of classes before Thanksgiving break was on Tuesday — were set to return to class in-person on Nov. 30. They will instead resume classes remotely that day and return to in-person courses on Wednesday, Dec. 2, pending COVID-19 test results, Superintendent Larry Worcester said.
Several Aroostook schools have shifted to remote learning in recent weeks as people connected to the school test positive for the virus. On Tuesday, Caribou Community School switched to remote learning after a positive COVID-19 case was found within the school.
And on Friday, Regional School Unit 29 in Houlton canceled Thanksgiving week classes after someone connected to the school tested positive. SAD 70 in Hodgdon and Region Two School of Technology in Houlton followed suit.
Presque Isle High School had a student test positive in late October, but the district did not switch to remote learning because the student hadn’t attended classes for at least a week before testing positive.
There are 20 active COVID-19 cases in Aroostook County, according to the Maine CDC.
