WESTMINSTER, Md. — Carroll County Public Schools is reporting two positive coronavirus cases at one of their elementary schools.
According to the County Health Department, the cases were confirmed in a special education program at Robert Moton Elementary School in Westminster. Currently, one case is a staff member and the other is a student; both are in the Learning for Independence (LFI) Special Education program.
Officials say the LFI program was closed on the afternoon of October 26 after the staff member reported experiencing COVID-like symptoms over the weekend and multiple students and staff members were identified as close contacts.
The second individual tested positive on November 5 and school and Health Department staff worked together to determine appropriate next steps.
All of those identified as close contacts of these two people are in quarantine and several of them have been tested. Since this is limited to the LFI program, the rest of the school can remain open.
“School administration and staff at Robert Moton have been extremely cooperative throughout this process,” said Ed Singer, Health Officer for Carroll County. “We expected to have some cases in the schools due to COVID-19 spread in the community. With all of the mitigation measures in place, we hope to limit the number of people impacted by spread within the schools. We will continue follow these cases and others in the system to identify any linked cases and areas of concern.”
“As expected, our staff continue to follow our established protocols and work closely with the Health Department as situations arise,” said Steve Lockard, Superintendent of Carroll County Public Schools. “We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our schools and take steps to mitigate the spread within our school community.”