Grafton students return to school amid another jump in Covid cases

As Grafton students head back to school Monday, officials are taking measures to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Masks: mandated for students and staff. The return also coincides with the deadline for all school staff to provide proof of vaccination or face a requirement to test and provide results at least once a week.

Rapid test kits, however, are in short supply. When the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education attempted to supply school districts with kits this weekend, the pickup abruptly changed from Friday to Saturday and Sunday, with a reduction in promised tests.

Grafton saw a 123 case increase over the past week, according to the most recent numbers from the Department of Public Health. On Friday, 21,397 new cases across the state were logged, leading to several school districts delaying the start of school this week.

KN95 masks will be provided to Grafton school staff.

In an email to parents, Grafton High School Principal Kevin Carney said the school will be holding class meetings to discuss proper mask wearing with students.

“We understand the fatigue factor that students and staff are experiencing with masks and we are sensitive to the mask breaks that individuals need to take when necessary,” he said. That said, when people are together, we need to have masks fully covering our noses and mouths at all times.

“Individuals who need multiple reminders in a given day about proper mask wearing will need to be removed from classrooms for the remainder of the day and report to the Commons until their parent can pick them up from school,” he added. “This course of action follows expressed concerns from both students and staff about people not taking this expectation seriously.”

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