Curley School Covid-19 numbers increase again; school again reminds families to self isolate

In e-mail to Curley K-8 School parents today, Principal Katie Grass said that 17 more people who spent time in the Jamaica Plain school have tested positive for Covid-19 since Tuesday, when officials announced 46 cases over the prior three weeks and shut the school for ten days to try to get the situation under control.

The e-mail does not specify if the positive cases were among students, teachers or other staffers for privacy reasons. The school has a total of roughly 900 students, according to state records.

In a separate e-mail, Grassa said all students and BPS staff who were in the school before its shutdown should be self-isolating until at least Sunday - or even later if they can't get a Covid-19 test by then.

With the weekend upon us, I remind you that the Boston Public Health Commission has asked all Curley students and staff to self-isolate and avoid groups or gatherings. Students and adults, irrespective of vaccination status, who have been inside the Curley K8 building must avoid community activities, practices and social events, for at least five days (until Sunday 11/14) and until you receive a negative COVID-19 test on 11/14/21 or later. Please stay home and seek guidance from your medical professional if you develop any symptoms.

The message assumes that families have been self-isolating since Tuesday; at a meeting that night with parents, officials acknowledged that might be difficult for some people.

The news comes after the state education secretary ruled that students would only get credit for some of the online-learning days during they will have and that they will have to return to their classrooms to make up at least three days of in-school learning.

BPS and Boston public-health officials said they had to shut the school in part because the case numbers had increased so rapidly and across numerous classes. This made the Curley different from the Manning School in Jamaica Plain and the Orchard Gardens School in Roxbury, which had outbreaks that were much smaller and contained to a smaller number of classrooms.