A positive COVID-19 case has been reported at the Lewiston Middle School.  

Meanwhile, in Auburn, school officials reported four positive cases, one at Auburn Middle School, two others at Edward Little High School and another at Washburn Elementary. 

In Lewiston, School Superintendent Jake Langlais wrote Thursday night: 

“This letter is to inform you that a student at LMS has tested positive for COVID-19. We have taken steps with our response team to follow Maine CDC and DOE guidelines to notify staff and students as appropriate. We believe it best to share what we can with our entire community.  

“One student from team Olympic tested positive,” Langlais wrote. “School was notified today when the results came in. At this point, 4 staff and 19 students are close contacts. As a result, all of team Olympic will be remote tomorrow and all next week. Spring break begins April 17th. Students who are identified as close contacts need to quarantine through April 18.”

Lewiston High School Assistant Principal Jay Dufour speculated that the uptick in cases may be due to youth activities and events outside of the school system. 

“From the school side of things, we are still taking all the necessary precautions and doing our very best to follow the CDC guidelines, including masking, hand-washing, and social distancing,” Dufour said.  “The kids have been awesome, and I mean awesome when it comes to compliance around masking, sanitizing and distancing during in-person school hours.” 

“I am optimistic,” Dufour said, “that with vaccinations really starting to pick up steam, and with everyone doing their best to mask, we will be in a better place soon.” 

Two of the Auburn cases, one at E.L. and one at the Auburn Middle School, were reported Thursday. The number was updated at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, with the additional cases at EL and Washburn Elementary reported.

In Auburn, Superintendent Cornelia Brown sent a memo Friday to report that E.L. would remain closed for in-person learning all of next week.