LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster County High School will be closed next week due to the spread of COVID-19 at the school.
Conestoga Valley High School will close its doors from Saturday through Monday, Sept. 21, district superintendent Dave Zuilkoski said in a letter to parents and guardians posted Friday on the school district's website.
The school district has four total cases of COVID-19 -- one at Brownstown Elementary School, and three at CV High School. There is one additional probable case at the high school as well, Zuilkoski said.
The closure only affects the high school building, according to Zuilkoski's message.
Contract tracing efforts determined the cases at the high school originated from a gathering outside of the school, according to Zuilkoski.
"We were very fortunate that the spread was not worse," he said in his message. "We are fortunate because we have dedicated individuals in the High School conducting effective contact tracing. Due to the ability of the High School staff to gather pertinent information in real time, the familiarity with the individuals involved, and the occurrence of the Labor Day holiday, we were able to effectively identify and quarantine individuals who ran the risk of contracting the virus.
"Again, this closure is not a result of a schedule, of someone not wearing a face covering, or of someone not maintaining social distance; this closure is the result of individual actions in the community brought into the school."
While the school is closed, CV will go to an online learning model while the building undergoes a thorough cleaning, according to Zuilkoski. All extra-curricular activities will be suspended and rescheduled, he added.
All students who were asked to quarantine are still expected to do so, Zuilkoski said. Teachers will report to the high school to deliver their lessons remotely.
"Here at CV, we will continue to do everything possible to keep our students, faculty and staff as safe as possible," Zuilkoski's message concludes. "We cannot monitor or control the actions outside of our buildings. We need your help as parents, students, community members, friends and colleagues, to make sure we are doing everything in our power outside-of-school to stay safe, so we can enjoy all that in-person school provides."
