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About 150 New Orleans Catholic School Students, Staff Quarantined After Possible COVID-19 Exposure

Karen Gadbois
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The Archdiocese of New Orleans has recorded 20 positive cases of COVID-19 in 16 schools, according to a statement released Wednesday. As a result, approximately 150 students, faculty and staff are in quarantine.

There are more than 70 schools in the New Orleans Catholic school system that serve approximately 33,000 students. Some resumed in-person classes earlier this month.

“There are no reports at this time of spread within school communities, which leads us to believe our safety and mitigation efforts of social distancing, mask-wearing, hand-washing, and regular thorough cleaning and sanitization of our campuses is working to prevent the spread of the virus,” the statement said.

School leaders report positive cases directly to regional public health officials and to the Department of Catholic Education and Faith Formation. The entire school community is informed of positive cases “out of an abundance of caution,” the statement said.

Individuals who have direct contact with someone who tests positive for the virus receive quarantine information directly from Louisiana’s Department of Health.

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Aubri Juhasz is the education reporter for New Orleans Public Radio. Before coming to New Orleans, she was a producer for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. She helped lead the show's technology and book coverage and reported her own feature stories, including the surge in cycling deaths in New York City and the decision by some states to offer competitive video gaming to high school students as an extracurricular activity.