Winchester High School Goes Remote After Student Tests Positive

WINCHESTER, MA — Winchester High School was added to the list of schools forced to switch gears to all remote classes after a student tested positive for COVID-19. The positive case was reported late in the day on Wednesday, which was also the first day of in-person classes.

The school moved all cohorts for Thursday and Friday to remote learning due to the positive test. The student is the only active COVID-19 case in the town, as of Sept. 16. Winchester has seen 134 confirmed cases and eight deaths.

Winchester High School will have remote classes until its planned reopening on Sept. 21, unless more students test positive. Pre-K through eighth grade classes are carrying on as usual.

Winchester Public Schools Superintendent Judith Evans told Wicked Local she hopes the positive test serves as a wake-up call to residents, families and students to take the virus more seriously. The town is urging students who may have been part of group gatherings to get tested. Evans told Wicked Local that she knew of two events on the weekend of Sept. 12.

Alongside Winchester on the list of schools moving to remote is Attleboro, where parents knowingly sent a student into school who had COVID-19. In towns like Dedham and Lynnfieldthe COVID-19 clusters from students throwing parties pushed the towns into state designated "red zones."