Surge In COVID-19 Cases Preventing In-Person Instruction In Little Falls Schools

While the numbers are not as high as they were months ago, the virus is still alive and spreading. An increase in COVID-19 cases in Little Falls has made things difficult for Superintendent of Schools there, Dr. Keith Levatino.

Levatino has maintained since the start of this most recent school year that he wishes to have kids back in school. The most recent roadblock is this latest bout of cases. Dr. Keith Levatino says, "So far this week we have had 3 students test positive, K through 12. Roughly 100 kids must now be under quarantine per Department of Health guidelines." That most certainly is a major problem when it comes to returning those students to some form of normalcy.

Levatino says up until this point they have been following stringent protocols and so this uptick in cases is very unexpected and out of nowhere. Levatino says, "We are not going to the 3 feet distance rule, we're maintaining the 6-feet rule. I have no idea why this is happening, but our medical team is meeting to review the data and see what we need to do moving forward."

When asked where this outbreak originated Levatino said, "It did not originate from sports, but yesterday a report indicated it had impacted a sports team and may have consequently affected a team from another district." He was sure to emphasize the word, MAY. These recent cases are proof that even in a county that has seen a leveling and even decrease in overall cases is not bulletproof. Hopefully, this surge will pass and in-person models can be possible. Levatino says they are actively working on plans to steadily bring students back, when it's safe.