Updated 10/14
The Vineyard Montessori School (VMS), which was closed Tuesday due to concerns about students’ possible exposure to a person with COVID-19, is reopening on Wednesday, according to an email sent by Deborah Jernegan, head of school, to parents Monday.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding over the past two days. As you all know, the decision to close the school today was made with an abundance of caution until we were aware of all test results that connect back to the asymptomatic parent who tested positive,” she wrote. “Please know we took this precaution, in care of the health and safety of all our families and extended families at VMS and to mitigate any further spread of the virus within the community.”
In an initial email to parents, Jernegan wrote that students at the school “could have been in contact with other students that have made contact with an asymptomatic parent who tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.”
The private school in Vineyard Haven has students in grades pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. It is closing pending the results of other tests.
The school closure comes as three new COVID-19 cases were reported over the long weekend. Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Saturday — one case at the TestMV site and the other at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Another positive case was reported at TestMV on Monday. The new cases bring the Island’s total number of confirmed positive cases since March to 108.
The Island has seen a small uptick in cases. On Friday, the Martha’s Vineyard boards of health reported its third case in three days.
Updated to include information about the school reopening.