Sunrise Elementary staffer tests positive for covid in Penn-Trafford School District

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Sunrise Elementary staffer tests positive for covid in Penn-Trafford School District

Patrick Varine | Friday, October 2, 2020 11:33 p.m.

James Robson, a biomedical engineering graduate student, holds a swab and specimen vial in the new COVID-19, on-campus testing lab, Thursday, July 23, 2020, at Boston University in Boston. Dozens of U.S. colleges are announcing plans to test students for the coronavirus this fall, but their strategies vary widely. Federal health officials discourage widespread testing on college campuses, but some researchers say it’s necessary to prevent outbreaks.

After announcing the weeklong closure of Level Green Elementary School on Wednesday, Penn-Trafford school officials notified Sunrise Elementary parents Friday that a staff member had tested positive for covid-19.

Close contacts — defined by the state Health Department as a person who was within 6 feet of a person with covid-19 for 15 consecutive minutes — are required to be quarantined.

School officials stressed that they are working to ensure the health, safety and welfare of students, families and staff while also protecting the privacy of those affected by the coronavirus.

“Unless an individual has been personally contacted by the Department of Health or the school nurse, we can reasonably assure you that you have not been identified as a ‘close contact’ of a positive case,” Superintendent Matt Harris wrote in an email sent to parents on Friday.

Sunrise Elementary will be open for school on Monday, Harris said.

“If a parent wants their child to work remotely, they must notify their homeroom teacher, as they have that option,” he wrote.

Penn-Trafford officials could not be immediately reached for comment late Friday night.

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