Alfredo Andrews Elementary Reverts to Virtual Learning Due to COVID-19
Alfredo Andrews Elementary School on St. Croix will revert to virtual learning for the rest of the week due to recent COVID-19 exposures on the campus, the V.I. Education Department announced in a news release issued just after midnight Wednesday. It is the second school closure this week due to COVID-19 exposure after Claude O. Markoe Elementary on St. Croix closed on Monday to in-person learning until further notice. The closures come as St. Croix is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. As of Tuesday, there were 130 active cases on St. Croix, 35 on St. Thomas and 5 on St. John, according to the Health Department. Four people were hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas, and three at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix, including one on a ventilator. Two positive cases were confirmed at Alfredo Andrews Elementary over the weekend, with the affected classrooms reverting to virtual learning this week, and then two more cases were confirmed on Tuesday, according to the Education Department’s news release. The V.I. Health Department’s COVID-19 Taskforce has been notified and officials have begun contact tracing, the release stated. The department will conduct drive-through COVID-19 testing for students and teachers of the impacted classrooms from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 1 at the front entrance of the school.
2021-09-29 20:46:20 - VI News Staff
Meanwhile, Joseph Gomez Elementary School will remain closed on Wednesday and will revert to virtual learning for all students for the remainder of the week as the school mourns the loss of paraprofessional Kima Lloyd-Jarvis, who died on Monday, the Education Department said in a separate news release.
Normal, in-person operations are expected to resume for K-3 and special education self-contained students of Joseph Gomez on Monday, Oct. 4, the department said.
Alfredo Andrews Elementary also is expected to return to normal, in-person operations on Monday, Oct. 4. The campus will be thoroughly sanitized by CDC-approved products before it reopens, the Education Department said.
During the campus closure, students may pick up breakfast and lunch between 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the John H. Woodson Jr. High School, the Education Department said. School bus service to and from Alfredo Andrews will be suspended during the closure.
Claude O. Markoe families may pick up breakfast and lunch at the Arthur A. Richards modular campus from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, the department said.