April 19, 2021
Dear Independence Local Schools’ Families,
I want to inform you that over the weekend we received information that two 10th-grade students, two 8th-grade students, and a kindergarten student all tested positive for COVID-19. The students were in school Thursday and Friday. The students started showing symptoms Saturday.
With every school-based positive test, we work closely with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and anyone identified as a close contact is notified by the school administrators as a part of the COVID-19 investigation. Close contacts are individuals who have been within six feet for 15 minutes or more within a 24 hour period with the person who tested positive. If close contacts are in the classroom and/or school bus settings and are masked, they do not need to quarantine.
In these cases, we had three kindergarten students, eight 8th-grade students, and 16 high school students who were within close contact in unmasked settings (lunch or gatherings outside of school) and must quarantine. These families have already been contacted by a school administrator.
Cleaning and disinfecting of all buildings will continue to be completed.
If you have any questions, contact Tom Dreiling at 216/642-5852, me at 216/642-5850, or the Cuyahoga County Board of Health at 216/201-2000. Thank you for helping to keep people safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community and school.
For answers to your COVID-19 questions, call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634) or visit coronavirus.ohio.gov. Resources from the CDC include:
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you or a loved one are experiencing anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call the COVID-19 CareLine at 1-800-720-9616.
Sincerely,
Ben Hegedish
Superintendent
Independence Local Schools
