CRAWFORD COUNTY, Missouri — Nearly 100 people at Cuba Middle School in the Crawford County R-2 School District are under quarantine after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus, but the superintendent said the school will remain open.
The staff member was in close contact with 92 students and seven staff members, who have been been told to quarantine, according to a letter the superintendent sent to parents on Friday.
The letter, which was posted on the school district's Facebook page, said the number of those who were in contact with the staff member puts the school "in line with our threshold for closure." However, the superintendent said there have been no other positive cases, so he chose not to close the school.
"If we see an increase in cases within the MS [middle school] within the next couple of days, that may change our situation," the letter says.
Everyone who was identified as a direct contact has been notified, the letter said.
Custodial staff disinfected the building over the weekend.
According to Missouri's COVID-19 dashboard, Crawford County has reported 61 new cases of the virus from Oct. 10 until Oct. 16, the day for which the most recent data is available. Over the last week, the county's positivity rate has been 27.6%, which is an increase of 4.8% from the prior week.
Cuba is located about 85 miles southwest of St. Louis.