HAMLET — Richmond County Schools announced early Monday afternoon that it would be closing a local elementary school because of COVID-19.
“In consultation with the Richmond County Health Department, Richmond County Schools will close Fairview Heights Elementary School at the end of the school day today in an effort to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak,” reads a post on the district’s Facebook page. “The NC DHHS defines the term ‘cluster’ to be ‘a minimum of five cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period AND plausible epidemiological linkage between cases.’
There are currently seven active cases of students and staff that may be connected at the school, according to the post.
“In an abundance of caution, the school will be closed for all students and staff to quarantine for 14 days and for the building and buses to be sanitized,” the post reads.
Students and staff are scheduled to return on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
“All face-to-face learning will now transition to remote learning,” according to the post. “All students have been instructed on how to access their learning through CANVAS and SEESAW. If a parent or student has a question about to how access this information, they need to contact their teacher through DOJO or email.”
Parents who would like for their children to receive meals during this closure, should call Debbie Blake at 910-997-9841. Meal delivery will begin Wednesday, Oct. 7.
“As always, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority.”
