As of yesterday, Grafton county (~90,000 people) has 27 identified active cases of COVID-19. Lyme has 1-4 active cases, Hanover has seven active cases, and Lebanon has 1-4 active cases.
There is no evidence that schools are fueling community transmission of coronavirus at any concerning level. There have been no outbreaks in any New Hampshire school. This is due to the hard work that teachers, students, and families have put in so far. For this, our gratitude is in order. Thank you.
There is evidence, however, that students are unknowingly being infected outside the school setting and then attending school. This poses risk of transmission at schools – leading to medical isolation of the COVID-positive individual and 14-day quarantines of students and staff who were in close contact of the COVID-positive person.
Our aim is to protect and promote student and staff health and safety. Part of a student’s well-being is being able to attend in-person school, which is essential, when they are well enough to do so and not be burdened with quarantines through no fault of their own. These quarantines burden and inconvenience families who take off of work/work remotely to be with their children while they are in mandated-quarantines. Further, the close-contact quarantines have posed significant operational challenges for schools dealing with teachers working remotely while they quarantine. These are not hypothetical scenarios, rather these are playing out regularly across the state right now.
Last Thursday, the governor issued a two-week “pause” on ice hockey. Those participating in indoor ice hockey outside the state during the two-week pause time are considered to have an exposure risk and should not return to congregated settings, like school. NH DHHS advised schools if they want to minimize potential transmission and disruption of in-person operations that they may align with the governor’s 14-day ice hockey “pause.” Crossroads Academy administration, a board representative, and teacher-representatives from both the Lower and Middle School gave 100 percent support for this temporary, 14-day, policy. Our impression of the governor’s pause is not punitive, rather it gives public health officials time to outline guidance that is specific to youth hockey by the end of the month; the state wants to see youth sports open for children but in a safe and practical way that does not affect community health.
