Schools
Student At Germantown Academy Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A positive case of coronavirus was found in a student at Germantown Academy, the school confirmed. It's the eighth in Montgomery County.
FORT WASHINGTON, PA — A student at Germantown Academy has tested positive for coronavirus, the school announced in a letter sent home to parents Tuesday. It comes just after the school announced they would close their campus through spring break as a precaution due to this student's family member catching the virus.
The student, who is in the Upper School, does not require hospitalization and is well enough to remain in self-quarantine at home. This marks the eighth case of coronavirus in Montgomery County and the 11th in Pennsylvania.
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Three other students who visited that student's home last week are now in self-quarantine for two weeks, Germantown said. Those students currently do not have any symptoms and their conditions are being monitored.
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Numerous other schools around Montgomery County shut down on Tuesday due to concerns that the members of the school community may have had contact with recently infected individuals. Norristown, Upper Merion, and Cheltenham school districts were all shut down for a deep cleaning, as well as Simmons Elementary in Horsham.
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Some of the concern was traced back to contact which children and their families had with a CHOP cardiologist in King of Prussia who has coronavirus. That doctor is now in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Germantown plans to launch online classes through their "Virtual GA" platform on Thursday.
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In a statement, the school urged families to closely consider travel plans and to "strongly err on the side of caution." "Prior to our return from spring break, it will be imperative for any community members with a fever or respiratory illness to remain at home," Rich Schellhas, Head of School, said Tuesday.
More than 110,000 coronavirus cases and 3,800 deaths have been confirmed worldwide.
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