LIVERMORE FALLS — All schools in Regional School Unit 73 will move to remote learning by Thursday,  after many students and staff tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Scott Albert said in a letter.

“We will return to in-school instruction on Monday, Nov. 15,” he wrote, giving the Spruce Mountain School District a 12-day break that will hopefully help with the recent surge, he wrote.

Teachers will be allowed one day to prepare for remote instruction, if needed. All remote classes will start Thursday, while some could start Wednesday if teachers are ready.

Parents and students should check their teacher’s Google classroom to be prepared. All RSU 73 extra- and co-curricular activities are suspended until Nov. 15.

Further updates from the Maine Center for Disease Control we will be shared, the letter said.

Students from Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls attend Spruce Mountain schools. The primary school is in Livermore while the elementary, middle and high schools are in Jay.

No exact figures were available Tuesday on the number of students and staff who have COVID-19, and the total number of students and staff in the district.

Over the most recent three-day period, Maine reported 862 new cases and 12 additional deaths.

Albert reported at the Oct. 7 school board meeting that 40 students and six staff had tested positive since the beginning of the school year. A total of 296 students were required to quarantine as a result, although 76 students were able to stay in school due to the mask mandate.

Concerns about the impact of quarantining on students and their families were shared by parents at the Oct. 21 board meeting.

A letter from Albert on Oct. 31 indicated there had been 15 new cases from all four schools in the district within the past four days. Those involved resulted in close contacts while in school.

A similar letter on Oct. 27 noted seven students and one staff member had tested positive, affecting every school, with all but one person having close contacts while at school.