Manhasset Secondary School will operate remotely next week due to a number of superspreader events that took place recently in the area, Superintendent of Schools Vincent Butera said in a letter to the community on Tuesday.
“Earlier today, we were notified by the Nassau County Department of Health with regard to reported parties/gatherings attended by our Secondary School students within the past ten days,” Butera wrote. “These parties/gatherings have become super spreader events that have resulted in an alarming increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases throughout the community.”
Butera said that the district had reported 38 positive cases among students, resulting in the Nassau County Department of Health’s recommendation that the secondary school be placed on a fully remotes schedule the week of Feb. 22 through at least Feb. 26. This week, school did not convene as the district had its midwinter recess.
Further, extracurricular activities and athletics will be suspended at the secondary school until Feb. 26, effectively canceling the rest of the school’s winter athletic season.
“We will continue to monitor the positive cases to determine if there is an impact at our elementary level,” Butera wrote
He added that all identified cases were in isolation and their close contacts have been quarantined by the Department of Health.
“Many of the students who have tested positive have been asymptomatic causing a false sense of security,” Butera wrote. “If your child attended a party/gathering, or has been in contact with someone who attended a party/gathering over the past ten days, it is imperative that you contact your health care provider regarding testing and that they quarantine immediately – so as to limit the spread of COVID-19. These disconcerting actions by members of our community continue to put our entire school community at risk and cause a heightened sense of fear and anxiety.”
No specific dates or locations of such events were mentioned.
“As we have communicated in the past, events like these impact the entire community resulting in potentially serious illness for students, their families, and our faculty and staff,” Butera wrote. “In addition to the suspension of onsite learning, as well as the cancellation of athletic events and extracurricular activities at the Secondary School, these actions necessitate that we pause discussions regarding returning more students to full-time learning until we can assess the exponential impact of these actions.”
The superintendent then urged parents to contact the Nassau County Department of Health and email administrator Allison Rushforth at allison_rushforth@manhassetschools.org should they or their students test positive over the winter recess, and said that the district would have testing available for students in their Secondary School gymnasium on Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m with advanced registration.
“During this time, we stress the importance of limiting contacts you and your children have with others outside of your household,” Butera wrote. “Our efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 will only be successful if we all do our part and follow established protocols. We are closing the Secondary School with the intention of slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our school community.”
