Mat-Su school district confirms coronavirus infection in third grader

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District on Thursday reported a confirmed case of COVID-19 involving a third grade student at Machetanz Elementary in Wasilla.

That student did not attend school Thursday and did not ride the school buses, the district said in a statement. The school is taking “additional precautions” to restrict the mixing of students for the remainder of the school day, according to the release.

[Related: Mat-Su schools will reduce classroom days to 4 a week in effort to limit spread of COVID-19]

Mat-Su Public Health is conducting contact tracing and a public health worker or a school nurse will notify any students who were in close contact with the student within 24 to 48 hours, the district said. Close contact means being within 6 feet of the infected student for 15 minutes or longer, according to the district.

The elementary school is organizing an early dismissal for families that would like to pick up their children but will also have regular student transportation in the afternoon. It will switch to at-home learning while the school building is closed for disinfection from Friday through Sunday and school will resume Monday, according to the district.

The district resumed in-person classes Aug. 19 with a mitigation plan that includes a requirement for students in grades three through 12 to wear face masks. The school district had initially planned a mitigation strategy that did not include face masks but began tightening some of its COVID-19 precautions in July.

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