9 Coronavirus Cases In Medford Schools Last Week

MEDFORD, MA — The Medford Public Schools is changing how it communicates COVID-19 cases to families.

In a letter Friday, Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent said cases will be tracked in real-time through the MPS website and weekly on the COVID-19 tracker dashboard.

"When there are extenuating circumstances, like when a teacher will be forced to not be in-person for an extended period of time due to the need to isolate or quarantine, we will notify the families of the affected students," Edouard-Vincent said.

According to the dashboard, there were nine positive COVID-19 cases across Medford schools last week. The Brooks and Missituk Elementary Schools had the highest number of cases with three each.

The district is also examining the effectiveness of the "test and stay" quarantine protocol, which does not require close contacts of cases to automatically quarantine. Under this policy, students and teachers who are deemed close contacts are tested daily and may remain in school while the tests are negative.

"While we may transition to using this type of protocol in the future, for right now, we intend to maintain our current practice of having unvaccinated close contacts quarantine, but also making sure that they receive the supports they need to keep pace with their peers just like students did prior to COVID-19 when they were out of school due to the flu, strep throat, or a family emergency," Edouard-Vincent said.