Covid-19 outbreak closes Apollo-Ridge middle school

Apollo-Ridge School District closed its middle school for in-person instruction this week because of a high number of positive covid-19 cases.

Nearly half of the 280 students at Apollo-Ridge Middle School in Kiski Township are under quarantine for exposure to covid-19.

There were 20 active cases involving students in the middle school and two involving staffers listed on the school’s website on Thursday afternoon.

Once positive covid-19 cases exceed 5% of the student population within a 12-day window, the national Centers for Disease Control Prevention classifies the cases as an outbreak.

The district moved to remote learning on Wednesday and will continue remote instruction Thursday and Friday.

The middle school plans to reopen on Monday for in-person classes.

District staff and the state Health Department are completing contact tracing. They will notify families if their child was in close contact with other students who tested positive for covid-19.

While working remotely, students will access their assignments and lessons via Microsoft Teams accounts.

Students are expected to attend all of their live Zoom classes during the day at their regularly scheduled class times.

The district won’t post recordings of classes, according to Superintendent Matthew Curci.

Students will need to type “present” or “good morning” in their first-period class to prevent a teacher from listing them as absent.

The district offer a covid-19 case tracker on its website.