Logan schools close campus for two weeks

Logan Municipal Schools on Thursday closed its campus for two weeks after at least one employee or student tested positive for COVID-19.

“Because of the possibility of widespread exposure, our district is taking action to prevent further spread of the virus by CLOSING CAMPUS for the next two (2) weeks, requiring students and instructional staff to transition to a period of remote instruction,” superintendent Dennis Roch wrote in a letter posted Thursday on the district’s website.

The school district also sent out a text Thursday, stating all learning will be remote until May 3 “due to COVID cases.”

“Any student feeling sick should go home ASAP,” the text stated.

It was the third time during this school year Logan Municipal Schools shut down in-person learning because of the pandemic. It also closed in late August and in early December.

On Friday, the New Mexico Department of Health reported two confirmed coronavirus cases in the Logan ZIP code — a girl age 10 to 19 and a woman age 40 to 49. On Monday, the DOH reported three more cases in the Logan ZIP code – one child age 10 to 19 and two adults age 30 to 39 and 50 to 59 respectively.

Another case also was reported Friday in Harding County, which includes part of the Logan school district. It was the first case in Harding County in weeks.

New Mexico has seen a rise in schools closing or quarantining because of COVID-19 in the past week, including in Santa Fe, Bloomfield, Socorro and Dexter.

The state’s rapid-response database also reported confirmed cases in schools in Roswell, Las Cruces, Sandia Park, Farmington, Carlsbad, Tularosa, Albuquerque, Los Lunas and Espanola in the past week.

Roch wrote in Thursday’s letter that before in-person classes are scheduled to resume at Logan on May 3, the district’s buildings will undergo a deep cleaning, especially in areas where the infected employee or student spent time.

Logan athletic director Billy Burns said Thursday the school shutdown would wipe five games off both the boys and girls basketball schedules. Those non-played games would be considered “no contest,” in which neither team gets a win or a loss, Burns stated in an email.

Burns said sports likely would resume April 30 when Logan’s basketball teams host archrival Melrose.

Roch wrote that households do not necessarily have to quarantine unless a child or household member tests positive for the disease or if a household member comes in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.

He wrote that parents or guardians of any Logan student who displays coronavirus symptoms should call the family’s healthcare provider or the COVID-19 Hotline at 1-855-600-3453.