PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After two people associated with the Presque Isle Middle School and the Mapleton Elementary School tested positive for the coronavirus, 59 students, staff and faculty who had close contact with them must be quarantined until next week.
“We follow the Department of Education and Maine CDC required guidelines,” MSAD 1 Superintendent Ben Greenlaw said. “Most will be out of 10-day quarantine and will be returning on Monday, April 5.”
As far as Greenlaw knows, they did not contract the virus in the school.
“Members of the MSAD 1 Health Services department are in the process of notifying the students and staff considered close contacts to the two individuals who tested positive for the coronavirus,” Greenlaw said. “We have approximately 36 students and 5 staff members at Presque Isle Middle School who are considered close contacts. At Mapleton Elementary School, we have 14 students and 4 staff members who are considered close contacts.”
But Greenlaw said this has happened before and they have full-time substitute staff members to cover for those out on quarantine and that way they are able to keep the schools open for in-person instruction.
“We’ve been going five days a week, in-person, all year except for a short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he said. “And we’ve been fortunate to have not had a positive case since February. We almost made it two months.”
The schools have been following increased cleaning protocols since last summer and Greenlaw said they know their cleaning practices are working.
Greenlaw urges everyone in the school system to continue to take the necessary precautions against the coronavirus in order to reduce the spread of the disease.
For information, Greenlaw said parents can reach out to the school’s principal, the MSAD 1 Health Services Director Lisa McKenna at mckennal@sad1.org, or Greenlaw at greenlawb@sad1.org.
