CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Administrators at St. Patrick Catholic School in Charlotte said Wednesday there are currently 10 positive cases of COVID-19 at the school.
In a letter to parents, Principal Amy Tobergte said there is no school spread or clusters (defined as five or more connected cases in a classroom) at this time. Since Aug. 18, the school has recorded a total of 11 cases with more than 256 students and staff back in the building. Tobergte said any student or staff member who has been exposed must quarantine for seven days with a negative test within 48 hours from their return to school.
As a result of the rise in COVID-19, St. Patrick has postponed its Back To School picnic and Back To School night will now be virtual. St. Patrick will also no longer allow volunteers or visitors inside the building.
In a separate letter to parents dated Sept. 1, Superintendent Dr. Gregory Monroe said there are no reported clusters within Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS) but two classes were shifted to remote learning after reporting multiple positive cases each. Monroe says in the letter that all of the cases were traced outside of school.
Earlier this month, MACS said Mecklenburg County's mask mandate did not reference schools, however, the county amended its mask order to include all schools, including public, private and parochial campuses. However, parents can sign off on an exemption form "in line with the proclamation."
Monroe said at the time that during the 2020-21 school year, MACS provided in-person learning with different mask options. He said their experience showed schools are not places of high-risk virus spread, but reiterated protection measures like deep sanitization, contact tracing and more.
In Wednesday's letter, Monroe encouraged parents to be respectful of parents who choose to not force their kids to wear masks.
"It is not appropriate for families to claim an exemption for an extraneous reason, nor is it appropriate to challenge or confront parents on why they claimed an exemption for their child(ren)," Monroe wrote.
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