CHARLOTTESVILLE — A handful of positive COVID-19 cases at the Community School Corporation of Eastern Hancock has led to a much larger number of students absent from school as they self-quarantine, and the cancellation of the high school’s planned theater production.
Eastern Hancock High School and Middle School principal Adam Barton said on Wednesday, April 28 that three students tested positive for COVID-19, two in high school and one in middle school. However, he said, all the students were involved in extracurricular activities and therefore had close contacts with a number of other students who needed to remain home.
About 75 students in total had to quarantine, Barton said.
“Being in a small school, our kids are involved in a whole bunch of things,” he said.
For people who have not been vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people return to work or school after 10 days if they have no symptoms of COVID-19, or after seven days if they also test negative for the virus. People who have been fully vaccinated do not need to self-quarantine if they come into close contact with someone who tests positive.
Some of the students were involved in the high school’s upcoming theater production, planned for April 29, April 30 and May 1 performances. As a result, the performances had to be canceled. Barton said the theater department was not able to find a date to reschedule all three performances, but hopes to hold a one-time showcase later in May.
The production was set to be the first for Eastern Hancock drama director Corey Yeaman, who was hired in the fall of 2020. The play was “Crumpled Classics” — about a high school class who reinterprets literary standbys when their English teacher is out sick.
Eastern Hancock, the smallest of Hancock County’s four school corporations, had a total student population of 1,136 in the most recent tally in 2020. Of those, 418 were high school students.
Like other county school corporations, Eastern Hancock has returned to full-time in-person classes after switching to virtual education for several months during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.