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FRAMINGHAM – This morning, March 30 at 5, the Framingham Public School district updates its COVID dashboard with 3 positive cases at Stapleton Elementary School, and 2 mor4e positive cases at Framingham High School.
With these five new cases listed as Monday, March 29, the public school district has had 99 COVID positive cases this school year 2020-21.
Last week, the state said the Framingham Public School district had the third highest COVID cases among staff & students in the Commonwealth.
Families were notified of at least one positive case on Sunday night, just after 7, at Stapleton Elementary, but the district’s dashboard did not update until Tuesday morning, March 30.
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The Framingham Public Schools in February said that it would update its dashboard daily at 5 a.m., but yesterday, March 29, after questions by SOURCE why the dashboard was not updated on Saturday nor Sunday, the district said it will now only update the dashboard on weekdays.
“We update it on work days,” said the District to SOURCE.
When asked why the dashboard was not updated on Monday, March 29 with the known positive case at Stapleton Elementary School, the district said. “With Stapleton, we closed the classroom today for contact tracing. Once contact tracing is done, the dashboard is updated.”
With the 2 new cases reported at Framingham High, it now has 28 total cases in the academic 2020-21 school year, to lead the district.
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Fuller Middle has 9 cases, Walsh Middle School 8 cases, and BLOCKS and King Elementary are tied for fourth with 6 cases.
In March, there have been 51 cases in the Framingham Public Schools.
The district has been testing staff weekly, and students, via pooled testing.
SOURCE requested pooled testing participation rates for the district and by school.
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Earlier this month, the administration provided the total district participation rate by students. It is 46%. Pooled testing is not for remote students. On March 19, the district reported that number has increased to 48%.
As of yesterday, March 29, the rate had increased to 51%.
The district conducted 322 pools with 1,360 students tested, with 2 positive pools the week of March 22.
“Unfortunately, it is not surprising that the number of COVID cases in Framingham has increased,” said Framingham Teachers Association President Christine Mulroney. “This is not the time to let our guard down. Everyone must continue to follow safety protocol both in and outside of school. As we approach April vacation, we urge families to be mindful about their travel plans. If you do travel, we encourage all family members to get a PCR test upon return. We wholeheartedly support the district’s decision to put pooled and PCR testing in place in order to identify asymptomatic COVID cases. The FTA is urging families of in-person learners to consent to their child’s participation in weekly pooled testing. Doing so will help to minimize the spread. Please, continue to socially distance, wear a mask, and, when eligible and able, get the vaccine. This is a community effort!”
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MetroWest Medical Center