WESTWOOD, MASS. (WHDH) - Westwood High School temporarily transitioned to fully remote learning after five students tested positive for the coronavirus following an unmasked, indoor gathering on Halloween.
The school will stay remote for one week, with all in-person athletics canceled, Superintendent Emily Parks and Principal Amy Davenport announced Sunday.
They say the positive cases are believed to have originated from the Halloween party.
The Westwood Public Schools COVID-19 Monitoring and Response Team, along with the Public Health Department, had identified 20 students deemed close contacts with those who contracted the virus, Parks and Davenport said. They will need to quarantine for at least 14 days.
Parks and Davenport added that there have been inconsistencies in reporting and varying levels of cooperation with the contact tracing process and recommendation to get tested, making it more difficult to assess the scope of the situation.
“We strongly recommend that parents have frank, honest conversations with their children about their social behavior over the last week, including attending indoor gatherings and socializing without following other required safety measures, such as mask-wearing,” they wrote in a letter to parents and guardians. “If you have any reason to believe that your child has engaged in these behaviors, our Westwood Public Health Director recommends you contact your child’s physician and have them tested for COVID-19.”
The school district has reached out to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to enlist the support of the state’s mobile testing unit.
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