COVID-19 Cases Up In Westwood Public Schools

WESTWOOD, MA - The superintendent of the Westwood Public Schools, Emily Parks, said that six cases of COVID-19 in students and staff members have emerged over the past week in an interview on Wednesday afternoon.

There were no reported cases in data released the previous week.

"I have to caution that the first report only covered September 13, 14 and 15," she explained, noting that the school year had just started. "We file our weekly reports on Wednesday at 5 p.m. However, we are already reporting six positive cases in students and staff members."

Statewide during that three-day period, there were 1,230 cases. This was the highest amount ever reported, compared with previous reports where the number of cases was documented over a seven-day span.

Parks said that "almost all of the cases occurred in unvaccinated students." Although she did not give the numbers of cases, she said they occurred in the elementary schools, where students are too young to receive vaccinations.

"I expect that number to rise over the next few weeks," she added.

"There were also a couple of staff members who had breakthrough cases despite being vaccinated," she said.

Parks encouraged parents to sign their students up for the pool testing program, which would allow for students to be tested in groups and would aid in contact tracing. The program is available at no cost to school districts for this school year through a contract administered by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). School districts must apply for inclusion in the free testing program.

"If students are signed up, it allows them to participate in the Test and Stay program," Parks added.

In the Test and Stay program, a student who has been exposed to a close contact with COVID-19 and is asymptomatic, he or she can receive a BinaxNOW rapid antigen test. If the test is negative, the child is allowed to remain in class. Tests are administered for at least five days to ensure that the student does not have COVID-19.

"This is one way of keeping our students safe," she said. "In classrooms there is a lot of close contact."

Parks noted that, while some districts have faced staffing problems, Westwood has not encountered this issue.

"We aren't experiencing staff shortages for teachers," she said. "However, we are still hiring for some support positions, especially for the extended day program and for instructional assistants."

Another issue related to the pandemic that has not affected Westwood is that some districts have faced a shortage of bus drivers to transport students to and from school.

"We have been notified that we do have drivers for all bus routes," Parks said. "The one issue we have had is getting bus drivers for field trips."