It is with an abundance of caution that Frostburg State University has decided to pause in-person instruction effective 8 p.m. today, until at least Wednesday, Nov. 4, due to recent increases of symptomatic cases monitored by Brady Health Center, coupled with community spread in the region and related indicators FSU is monitoring.
Updates will be provided during the interim period, and information regarding classes and services following Nov. 4 will be determined at that point. In addition:
Access to Cordts PE Center activity areas will be suspended.
Residence halls remain open.
Food service will be available.
Additional measures will be shared as information becomes available.
Instructors will provide students with specific information for each class. Faculty have been instructed to be prepared to go online.
Updates will be posted at www.frostburg.edu/fall2020.
Mineral County Schools and the Mineral County Health Department have received confirmation of two individuals testing positive for COVID-19 in the Frankfort District—one student at Frankfort High School and one student at Frankfort Middle School. The Mineral County Health Department is working closely with Mineral County Schools to identify any potential persons who may have had close contact with them including students, staff, family members and friends. Those that need to be quarantined will be contacted by the health department. Please understand that contact tracing and testing take time and that there are levels of contact: low, medium and high.
Exercising an abundance of caution, and to ensure comprehensive contact tracing and identification of impacted staff and students, all schools in the Frankfort District will be closed Friday October 30th, this will be a distance learning day for students. This includes Fort Ashby, Wiley Ford, Frankfort Intermediate, FMS and FHS.
Three-day meal packs for “B Day” students will be delivered to bus stops on a 2 hour delay tomorrow morning.
Additionally, all extracurricular activities in the Frankfort District are cancelled for this evening and tomorrow evening.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone is urged to follow best health practices as issued by the Governor’s Executive Orders and outlined by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) guidance. This includes wearing face coverings, and practicing social distancing, hand washing and cleaning protocols regularly.
Those who feel they need to be tested, please contact your primary care provider, your local hospital or your local healthcare clinic. For more information about COVID-19 visit the DHHR at www.coronavirus.wv.gov or the CDC at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.
Mineral County COVID-19 Daily Totals 10/29/20
*We have added active “probable cases” to the list. With different types of testing being utilized and/or a contact that has developed symptoms, we will see more of these types of cases.
236 total 29 active 3 probable 203 recovered
The Hampshire County Health Department received 9 new cases today, 8 confirmed and 1 probable. Also a previous probable case receive a positive confirmation test which will move them from probable to confirm in the case count. All case investigations have been completed and contacts notified.
Hampshire County numbers are now 136 confirmed, 5 probable, 20 active cases, 1 death. One case is hospitalized.
The Hardy County Health Department and Hardy County Office of Emergency Management has one additional confirmed case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hardy County, making seven active cases, with a total confirmed case count of 110. We have had one confirmed COVID-19 death. We currently have six patients in quarantine at home, following proper protocol to protect their neighbors and community. One patient is currently hospitalized due to severe symptoms of COVID-19. Due to privacy, additional information regarding the persons, area of residence, and travel history will not be disclosed. The Hardy County Health Department has completed the necessary contact tracing to ensure the safety of close contacts and to prevent additional transmission. Hardy County now has 102 individuals fully recovered, included in the total confirmed case count of 110.
There were four (4) new cases today. Three appear to be related to travel, one is a contact to a previous positive. All are self-isolating at home; contacts have been notified and all will be monitored.
201 Total COVID Cases
• 189 confirmed Positive COVID cases
• 12 Probable COVID cases
• 169 Total Recovered
• 19 active Cases. 1 is hospitalized at this time
• 13 Deaths, of these: 9 Deaths listed as COVID related (6 from GRCC).
Call Grant Memorial Hospital (304) 257 1026 and press 5 to speak to an ER nurse or Grove Street Health Center at 304-257-2451 to help determine if testing is indicated and instructions how to proceed if you develop symptoms, (loss of taste or smell, fever, cough, muscle aches, cough, shortness of breath, headache or diarrhea). Remain isolated from others until you receive your test result and are cleared to discontinue isolation.
Two different terms- isolation and quarantine – are used by public health when talking about the requirement to remain home and away from other people to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Isolation and quarantine help protect the public by preventing exposure from people who have, or may have, COVID-19.
The CDC offers the following definitions:
· Isolation keeps people who are diagnosed with COVID-19 separated from others.
· Quarantine restricts the movement of people who were exposed to COVID-19 during the incubation period to make sure they do not infect others prior to have signs and symptoms of COVID.
Whether you have tested positive for COVID-19, or if you have been identified as a close contact of someone else who tested positive, the requirements are the same: stay at home!
Once a positive case is identified, they are told to isolate.
· Positive without symptoms: Isolate for 10 days from the day of positive test. If you develop symptoms, follow the information in the next bullet.
· Positive with symptoms: Isolate at least 10 days from the day symptoms first appeared, and you are fever free for 24 hours without the help of fever-reducing medication, and other COVID-19 symptoms are improving.
Bedford County
Total Cases: 404
Confirmed: 336
Probable: 68
Negative: 5,485
Cases per 100,000: 838.6
Deaths: 7
Deaths per 100,000: 14.5
Somerset County
Total Cases: 434
Confirmed: 358
Probable: 76
Negative: 12,484
Cases per 100,000: 586.9
Deaths: 3
Deaths per 100,000: 4.1
Central office staff are currently working on logistical details for phasing in students at the middle school level. The phased-in approach will begin with Grade 6 students only. The tentative start date for Grade 6 students will be Monday, November 16, 2020.
Students in Grade 6 will report to school Monday through Thursday on an A-B-A-B schedule. Middle schools will be dismissed daily at 12:30 p.m.
A student’s last name will determine which days he/she will attend. Students with last names that begin A-L will attend school on Mondays and Wednesdays, and students with last names that begin M-Z will attend school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Friday will be a virtual day.
Parents of Grade 6 students will be provided with a parent letter, COVID symptom checklist, and mask requirements and guidelines, and the public information officer will release an official announcement of the start date once all logistical details are finalized.
Principals at both the middle and high school levels are in the process of providing opt-out information to parents. The opt-out letters provide an overview of the daily instructional day.
A sample hybrid middle school student schedule and a sample hybrid high school student schedule are provided for reference. Please note that final schedules will be modified for each school’s bus arrival and bus dismissal time. Determining how many students will be opting out of in-person learning is critical to determining staffing needs for the hybrid schedule at the middle and high school levels.
Please note that we are only in the initial stages of planning the secondary transition. It will be a careful and deliberate process as we phase in the middle school grades, beginning with Grade 6. Please keep in mind that hybrid learning structures are subject to change based on health metrics and guidance provided by the Allegany County Health Department. Any changes will be communicated to parents through the ACPS website and Blackboard notification system. Your patience is greatly appreciated as we work out all of the details for the middle schools.
An update on the secondary hybrid plan will be discussed at the November school board meeting.
For more details log on to https://www.acpsmd.org/domain/18