COVID 19 Update: April 30
Yesterday we tested the entire school community. Today Northwood’s Health Center was notified of five additional positive cases. The new cases include two boarding students from the boys’ soccer cohort residing in the Second East dormitory, one boarding student from the boys’ hockey cohort residing in Bergamini dorm, and two school employees.
All five are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, are doing well, and will remain in isolation until cleared by their health care provider and will be permitted to return to school activities and facilities when cleared by the School’s medical directors. The Essex County Public Health Department has been notified of the cases and they will begin contact tracing in the morning. We expect all of Bergamini, with the exception of students who have been recently positive or who are fully vaccinated, to be ordered by the Department of Health (DOH) into a 10-day quarantine.
In accordance with the school’s infectious illness policy, some of our students in DOH-ordered quarantine will choose to complete their quarantine at home or with their emergency contact. They will follow the quarantine order and return only after receiving a negative test. The rest of the quarantined students will remain on campus in the dorm.
All other tests came back negative. Because we continue to be concerned about the spread of the virus on campus, we will conduct another testing clinic for the school community on Tuesday, and all students on campus will remain in quarantine until those results are available on Wednesday evening.
We are encouraged that there remains minimal spread outside of the soccer cohort. Our health center staff is diligently monitoring the health of our entire student population. They urge everyone to contact a nurse right away if they experience symptoms of COVID-19, to complete the daily symptom check survey, and to wear a mask when outside of their dorm room, to wash their hands often, and to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
We know many students are concerned about Advanced Placement exams, which begin at Northwood on Tuesday. Our faculty are working hard to ensure everyone on campus can take the exam, even if they are in DOH-ordered quarantine. For those not on campus during their exam, there are options to take the exam at later administrations. Mr. McCauley is Northwood’s AP Coordinator, and he will be in touch with AP students soon.
The process we have taken is consistent with the “Testing, Tracking, Tracing, Surveillance, and Quarantine” protocol that we will follow whenever there is a positive COVID-19 test on campus or among our students and employees. We continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the New York State Department of Health, and the Essex County Public Health Department.
All Northwood School community members are encouraged to check the Northwood Forward website frequently for updates regarding Northwood’s policies, protocols, and communications.
Sincerely,
John Spear Assistant Head for School Life