NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Nearly two dozen Newton high school students and staffers who returned Saturday from a three-week trip to Florence, Italy, have been ordered to stay home from school until further notice, officials confirmed Monday.
Nineteen students and three staff members from Newton North High School returned from the trip on Feb. 29 and were told to stay home out of an abundance of caution, Newton School Superintendent David Fleishman announced at a press conference.
“This is an unsettling time for our community, our students, and our staff,” Fleishman said. “To be clear, no student has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, nor is anyone exhibiting any symptoms. All students have been asked to monitor their health.”
“The students and staff can return once officials have been “advised that it is appropriate,” Fleishman said.
Fleishman also noted that the school district is working closely with health officials and that updates will be provided to exchange families.
On Sunday, Rhode Island officials said a teenager and an adult at a Catholic school in Pawtucket had presumptive positive cases of coronavirus after returning from a trip to Italy earlier in February.
The adult is being treated in a hospital and the teenager and another woman who is still being tested are at home, and the school is closed for the week for sanitizing.
Health officials in New Hampshire announced the state’s first case on Monday. There was been one confirmed case in Massachusetts.
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