Ellsworth High School to Resume In-Person Education Tuesday September 21

Ellsworth Superintendent of Schools Dan Higgins sent the following letter out to Ellsworth Parents and Students on Monday, September 20th.

This letter is intended as an update on the positive COVID-19 case reported late last evening that resulted in Ellsworth High School students and staff having a remote instructional day. We appreciate your understanding of the need to move to a remote instructional day today based on the inability to complete the contact tracing process and contact families last evening. We will return to full in-person instruction at Ellsworth High School and Hancock County Technical Center on Tuesday September 21 for students and staff who are not in quarantine status.

The Ellsworth School Department received confirmation late last evening that an individual associated with Ellsworth High School tested positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). After receiving the report of positive test results, school staff initiated our response, which included communication with the Maine CDC and following the Maine CDC Standard Operating Procedure for investigation of COVID-19 in PK-12 Schools.

The individual who tested positive was last in school on Thursday September 16, 2021. Through the contact tracing process fourteen students and one staff member were identified as close contacts to the individual who tested positive. Of that number, five students are not required to quarantine as they are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic and nine students will be able to attend school but are required to quarantine from co and extra-curricular activities as their exposure was classroom based, we have universal masking in place in our schools, and they are asymptomatic. One staff member is required to quarantine for ten days. School staff have notified parents of the students and the staff members who were identified as close contacts of their close contact and quarantine status.