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In Sullivan County, Monticello Central Schools Superintendent Matthew Evans issued an alert to the community advising that the Robert J. Kaiser Middle School will be going remote after two new staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
The new positive cases will force 14 staff members and 140 students into quarantine who were judged as close contacts.
Their quarantine will last through Monday, Oct. 25.
Due to the staff shortage caused by these quarantines, Robert J. Kaiser Middle School—including St. John Street School—will be switched to remote instruction for the week of Monday, Oct. 18 through Friday, Oct. 22.
“Individuals are placed on quarantine by the New York State Department of Health when they are considered close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases,” Evans said.
“The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines ‘close contacts,’ as individuals who were ‘less than six feet away from an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinical diagnosis) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.”’
Meals will be delivered on Monday and Wednesday at various locations with students receiving two breakfasts and lunches on Monday, and three breakfasts and three lunches on Wednesday for a total of five days worth of meals.
All other Monticello schools will remain open for in-person instruction.
“As always, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority,” Evans stated. “We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but we would not be able to safely supervise our students and maintain COVID-19 mitigation protocols in RJK MS if it were to be open for in-person instruction.”
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