COVID-19 cases returned along with students to Grafton schools

Grafton schools have had 14 positive cases of COVID-19 reported since opening for the new school year on August 31, five of which were contracted prior to the start of school.

“There are a lot more close contacts than we had last year,” Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings told the School Committee Tuesday night.

Conditions at the schools, of course, have changed a bit since last year. Students gradually migrated from the hybrid one week virtual/one week in-person model to full in-person days during the second half of the school year, with many remaining in the virtual program for the entire year. 

There are no virtual options offered by the Grafton Public Schools in the 2021-2022 school year and, while masks are mandated, desks are no longer socially distanced.

Covid cases include:

• Four at Grafton High School
• Four at Grafton Middle School
• Four at Millbury Street Elementary School
• Two at North Street Elementary School

None of the cases appear to be caused by in-school transmission.

In the entire town of Grafton, there have been three new cases reported since September 10, and 77 cases recorded since August 6. The town has had a total of 1,290 Covid cases since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Covid tests are available at the school nurses’ offices for both students who are showing symptoms and students who have been identified as close contacts of a Covid-positive person. Asymptomatic students are allowed to remain in school for the duration of their seven day quarantine period, provided that they receive a BinaxNOW rapid antigen test at the start of each school day and continue to test negative.

Additional vaccine clinics may be offered through the school system.

Cummings said he continues to be contacted by parents “at both ends of the extreme” about the masking requirement. While the state initially planned for the mandate to end on October 1, provided 80 percent of the schools were vaccinated, the state has not provided guidelines.

Still, the mood at the schools is almost… normal, masks and all, Cummings said. Visiting Grafton High, “it looked and felt like it was a high school, even with the masks. We didn’t get that last year.”

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