An employee at Edward Hynes Charter School at the University of New Orleans has tested positive for COVID-19, charter spokesperson Cheron Brylski said in a statement.
On Monday, two employees at Hynes-UNO reported experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. One employee tested negative and the other tested positive.
“In an abundance of caution, Hynes-UNO enacted its COVID-19 Plan of Action, notifying its school community and the appropriate state and local authorities, according to established protocols,” Brylski wrote.
The eight employees who work in the same building as the positive employee have been sent home to quarantine for 14 days. According to Brylski, these employees worked in a separate building from other staff, and school leaders, with the help of medical professionals, determined “that no other employees, students, or parents are at risk.”
Brylski said no further actions were recommended. An orientation for Kindergarten families was held in the school’s cafeteria on Tuesday night.
“We will continue to operate in close collaboration with local health officials and in regular communication with our school community, as well as encourage our employees to self-monitor and report,” Brylski wrote.
New Orleans public schools are required to report positive cases to the district and to the regional health director. While they are required to contact those who may have had close contact with the positive individual, they are not required to publicly release information and neither is the district.
Because of a lack of reporting, it’s impossible to know how many teachers have tested positive since returning to their classrooms. A staff member at Homer A. Plessy Community School tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.
There have been 26 positive cases in primary and secondary schools, according to aggregate data released by the Louisiana Department of Health.
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