Round Rock school district leaders have closed Stony Point High School effective immediately due to the number of positive COVID-19 cases and exposures to the virus.
The district’s covid dashboard shows the campus has three new cases, and a cumulative total of 28. There also were 12 new exposures, with 326 cumulative exposures.
All students will transition to virtual only learning this week and Monday, Nov. 30. The district is closed next week for student holidays. All extracurricular activities also are suspended during the campus closure.
The campus will reopen for in-person instruction Dec. 1. During school closures, all areas of the campus will be deep cleaned and sanitized using hospital-grade disinfectants before the campus reopens for on-campus instruction.
A school notification says the district “works closely with both of our local health agencies, Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) and Austin Public Health (APH) to help guide decisions for our campuses related to COVID-19. The length of time a campus remains closed is based on the recommendation from the health department in an effort to reduce transmission.”
The Round Rock district last week had 45 new positive cases, including 33 students and 12 employees, and 338 new close contacts. In total, the district has had 186 positive cases and 1,228 cumulative close contacts.
On Thursday, Williamson County announced it had moved into the “orange” phase of its pandemic response due to the rise in new infections and the county’s positivity rate. Under that phase, the county recommends schools offer only virtual learning to all students.
However, the Texas Education Agency requires school districts provide in-person learning to any student who wants it. Texas school districts can only close campuses for five days due to the spread of the virus.
Austin High School also is temporarily shuttered due to the the rise in positive cases.
On Monday, more than 250 Austin High School students, teachers and staff who are learning and teaching in person on campus showed up to get a COVID-19 rapid test after the Austin district closed the school.
Four tests came back positive. Testing will continue at the campus Tuesday and Wednesday but Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told school board members Monday night that, based on data as of Monday, she is leaning toward reopening the campus on Thursday.
Campuses in the Manor and Del Valle school districts also have closed temporarily due to the spread of the virus.
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