NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - North Andover High school students will be taught remotely for the next two weeks due to recent gatherings that led to positive coronavirus cases, town officials said on Thursday.
Beginning Friday, students will be taught remotely until Friday, Nov. 6, school officials said. Athletic activities will also be postponed until Sunday, Nov. 8 due to state guidelines.
Superintendent Brian Gilligan said five high school students have tested positive for the virus, 15 students are in quarantine and more test results are pending.
“Just working with our department of health and contact tracers, it was determined that was some outside gatherings that this case is tied to. again, as I said before, it’s not a case of school transmission,’ he said.
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Earlier this month, town officials in North Andover pointed to a cluster of cases at Merrimack College as the reason for their high-risk designation on the state’s COVID-19 map. But now all eyes are on the high school as they shift plans.
In a joint statement, the Health Director, Superintendent of Schools and Town Manager said five people at the school tested positive for COVID-19 following reports of multiple gatherings that occurred outside of school. Fifteen students are currently quarantining as a result.
“The gatherings involved a complete lack of safety precautions by both adults and students to protect against the spread of COVID,” the statement said.
More people have been tested for the virus and their results are pending, town officials said.
There has been no detection of the virus inside of the school building. The district hopes to transition back to their hybrid model of learning on Monday, Nov. 9.
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