Norwood third grade student tests positive for COVID-19

Published 1:51 pm Thursday, October 8, 2020

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A third grade student at Norwood Elementary School recently tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the school system.

Interim Superintendent Vicki Calvert, in an email to The Stanly News & Press, said that on Oct. 7 the school system learned that the student tested positive. This follows the death on Oct. 4 of Julie Davis, a third-grade teacher at the school who recently contracted the virus. Calvert didn’t say if the two cases were linked.

Parents were notified by the principal via a phone message Wednesday evening, Calvert said, adding that any individuals that were in close contact with the student will be notified personally and advised as to the appropriate next steps.

The student who contracted the virus had not been to school since Sept. 29, Calvert said, when the entire third grade moved to remote learning as a precaution after a message went out to parents from the school saying a staff member in the third grade tested positive.

Third grade students are supposed to report back to school on Monday, but the school system is working with the health department to determine if there needs to be a longer delay.

Calvert added that a request has been made of parents that if anyone in their household experiences symptoms of COVID-19 or has recently been around another person who has tested positive for COVID 19, their children should stay home and not go to school.

Stanly currently has 2,172 cumulative cases with 22 people currently hospitalized and 63 people having died, according to the health department. There are 367 active cases and 1,742 people have recovered.

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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