Update: In an email to parents on Monday, James Crenshaw, the East Hampton High School principal, said that the number of confirmed positive Covid-19 cases had risen to six. High school students will have classes online at least through Friday.
A fifth case of Covid-19 has been detected in a student at East Hampton High School stemming from a recent indoor social gathering of students at a house, school officials announced Monday morning.
Adam Fine, the school district's assistant superintendent, said in an email to families that there is no evidence of a school-related spread of the virus. Contact tracing took all of Saturday to conduct, he said.
Classes will be remote at the high school through Wednesday this week. The news on Monday means that a total of nine East Hampton School District students have contracted the virus, including four who attend the John M. Marshall Elementary School.
The district had been planning to introduce alternating Wednesdays for in-person lessons later this month so that students would attend school three days per week and remain on distance learning the other two days in their respective groupings. It is unclear at this point whether school officials will proceed with that plan.
"It is my greatest hope to safely implement additional days of in person instruction for all of our students," Mr. Fine said in the email. "However, our hands will be tied and this will never become a reality if the community spread continues, due to a neglect of practicing safe guidelines. Please partner with us and make the right decisions for your children to keep them safe. I feel confident that together we will make it past this most unfortunate reality."