PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (AP) — A Utah County high school plans to close temporarily and shift to a schedule that mixes online and in-person classes after reporting a cluster of coronavirus cases.
Alpine School District announced the change Monday at Pleasant Grove High School near Orem, although spokeswoman Kimberly Bird declined to say how many infections occurred, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“There’s an area within Pleasant Grove that’s impacting our numbers,” Bird said. “We’ve got to move in connection to the cases that are identified.”
A letter sent to parents said Pleasant Grove High School will close for two days.
The school is scheduled to reopen Thursday, when students will be split into two groups and begin attending in-person classes every other day to reduce the number of students in the building at one time.
Bird confirmed the state’s largest school district has detected 67 virus cases throughout its 91 schools, including 41 students and 26 faculty members.
Under state guidelines, if three students in a classroom of 15 children test positive for COVID-19, the school must change to online instruction.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
At this stage, there is no evidence that this will cancel the football game scheduled for Friday between Wasatch High School and Pleasant Grove High School.
