Minot Consolidated School is moving to remote learning after 17 students and two staff tested positive for COVID-19. RSU 16

MINOT — Following an outbreak of COVID-19, Minot Consolidated School is shifting to remote learning until after the Thanksgiving break.

Officials said they were taking the step, “out of an abundance of caution, in order to help prevent further spread of COVID-19.”

The district said it had six positive tests for the potentially deadly disease from its pool testing this week.

Follow-up testing determined the school had 19 positive cases — 17 students and two adults.

“After reviewing four previous cases from last week, in addition to the 19 new positive cases, we determined that the best way to reduce the likelihood of further transmission was to move to remote learning,” said Amy Hediger, the deputy superintendent for Regional School Unit 16.

She said that, “our health service team and school administrators worked tirelessly to test and identify positive cases and notify all 166 close contacts.”

At least 62 of the students are required to quarantine, because they are considered more likely to have close enough contact to get COVID-19 than others — representing a good chunk of the school.

Hediger said teachers “pivoted quickly to ensure readiness for remote learning. which is set to begin on Thursday.”

District records show 95% of the Minot staff is vaccinated, but few of the children are since COVID-19 vaccinations of 5- to 11-year-olds only started recently.

So far this semester, 30 students and five staff members at Minot school have tested positive for the disease.

The Minot primary school is one of three in the three-town district that also includes the towns of Mechanic Falls and Poland.