Reopened Raleigh private school reports positive COVID-19 case. Monday was first day.
A staff member visiting a Wake County private school that reopened for students this week has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Families at Thales Academy Raleigh were notified Thursday that a staff member who had been on campus Monday for training had tested positive for COVID-19. Parents were told that students in the affected classroom would be notified and that the school would be disinfected Thursday night with a Clorox Total 360 machine.
Kelly Ellis, a spokeswoman for Thales, said in an email Thursday that the school will be open for in-person classes on Friday. She said the impacted students and teacher will be quarantining following state health guidelines.
“Please be assured, all safety protocols were and continue to be followed including health screenings and masks for our teaching staff,” said the message from the school. “The staff member in training was asymptomatic throughout her time on campus, passed the temperature check, wore a mask throughout her visit, and was an observer in the classroom.”
Thales Academy began the new school year on Monday at eight campuses in North Carolina and one location in Virginia. Like other private schools, as well as public schools, Thales had been closed for in-person learning since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic struck the state.
A growing number of public schools around North Carolina are delaying returning for in-person instruction and instead are using remote learning for the start of the new school year. But many private schools, which are not subject to the same state requirements for reopening public schools, are reopening for in-person classes.
But private school leaders say they’ll use many of the same safety measures that public schools must do.
Thales makes safety changes for schools
Thales made several changes before the start of the new school year, including instituting:
▪ Daily temperature checks and symptom surveys completed before students enter the building.
▪ Social distancing whenever possible.
▪ Frequent hand washing.
▪ Staying within the same cohort of students and teachers throughout the day to minimize contact with others.
▪ No shared supplies.
▪ One-way traffic flows in hallways and stairwells.
▪ No mass gatherings.
▪ Staggered class change times to reduce the number of students in hallways at any one time.
▪ No visitors or parents permitted in the building.
▪ Advanced HVAC units were installed that continuously remove and do not recirculate contaminated indoor air and replace it with highly filtered, fresh outdoor air.
All students and staff in public schools are being required by the state to wear face coverings when they reopen. But Thales Academy is only requiring masks for staff and students ages 11 and up.
Even though public school elementary students must wear masks at school, Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order doesn’t require them to be worn in public by children under age 11.
“Masks are not required for students under the age of 11, but we encourage them for all students, in the event that social distancing is difficult at any point during the school day,” Ellis said in an email. “We are also following the state and county mandates in our out-of-state schools.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Reopened Raleigh private school reports positive COVID-19 case. Monday was first day.."
