City schools report positive virus case

Someone who had been in a Norton school was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, parents and guardians learned in a letter the school system sent Thursday.

Other data on the schools website indicates the positive case involved Burton High School.

The news came 10 days after the school board got a positive report about the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

Classes began Aug. 5, both in person and remotely.

The Thursday letter advised that the division had been notified “that a student or staff member in our school has been diagnosed” with COVID-19. “The local health department has been notified and we are following protocols for assessing risks.”

The letter, which does not identify the affected school, appears on the school system’s website, https://www.nortoncityschools.org/, under the COVID-19 updates section.

“Parents should continue to monitor their own health and the health of their families for COVID-19 symptoms,” it states. “Children with COVID-19 generally have mild, cold-like symptoms, such as fever, runny nose, and cough. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported in some children.”

Also on the website is a tally of virus-related statistics since classes began.

It notes that during the period of Aug. 5-7, one Norton Elementary and Middle School student was sent home with a temperature of 100 of greater, but the student did not enter the building.

During Aug. 17-21, it reports, one elementary student who entered the building was sent home with a temperature of 100 or greater. One elementary student had been in the isolation room. Finally, it states, there was one reported COVID-19 case at Burton High School.