A staff member at the Mabel I. Wilson school in Cumberland has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, schools Superintendent Jeffrey Porter announced Friday.
Officials can’t rule out the possibility that the staff member transmitted the virus to others during the last week school was in session, Porter said in a letter to parents and staff. It is the second person connected to the school to become infected.
“Given the role of this staff member, it is not possible to isolate possible exposure to a single classroom or group of students,” Porter wrote.
On Thursday Porter announced a student from the school had tested positive for the virus, but said the student was not infected while school was in session, according the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Augusta.
He did not provide any additional information about the staff member, citing privacy concerns. The district also did not disclose the age or grade of the student who tested positive.
According to the CDC, the student was exposed to the virus in a situation outside of school.
The school, on Tuttle Road in Cumberland, serves about 575 students in kindergarten through third grade, according to the Maine Department of Education.
“Please join me in keeping this staff member in your thoughts at this time,” Porter wrote. “My hope is that your family gets some rest this weekend and can take your attention off of the virus for the time being. Be well.”
On Friday the Maine CDC also announced the state’s first COVID-19 fatality, a case of a man in his 80s in Cumberland County. The CDC also noted the total number of positive cases of the illness in Maine had increased by 13 from Thursday to Friday and was now at 168. Of those, 24 have recovered, state officials have said.
The school is part of Maine School Administrative District 51, which includes the towns of Cumberland and North Yarmouth.
This story will be updated.
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