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Burlington, WI (The Journal Times) — The Burlington Area School District will go all virtual, beginning Wednesday, due to a drastic increase in COVID cases within the district.
There have been more than 24 cases within the district in the past eight days. Comparatively, there were only 31 positive cases in the 11 weeks of school leading up to that.
“As COVID-19 continues to surge throughout our region and the State, we have no choice but to move into a virtual instructional model,” BASD officials said in a news release. “With an increasing rate of transmission, along with staff and students that have either tested positive or are now in quarantine, it has become unsustainable for us to continue in our hybrid/in-person model.”
The increase in cases at BASD is consistent with what is going on in the wider community. At this point, COVID-19 cases have affected all grade levels, in-person learning, extracurricular activities and transportation within the district.
The district announced the change on Monday, along with the intent to shift back to a hybrid of virtual and in-person learning on Nov. 30, after Thanksgiving break, if cases have subsided at that point.
In addition to the increase in positive cases, there is a high number of students and staff in quarantine, causing an inability to adequately staff buildings, bus routes and other essential roles.
The district’s COVID dashboard indicates that 117 people within the district are currently in quarantine.
The Racine Unified School District has been all-virtual since the Sept. 1 start of the school year. On Oct. 16, with a previously announced deadline for a decision on the second quarter looming, RUSD announced that it would continue with all-virtual instruction “until further notice,” citing increasing COVID-19 cases locally and guidance from the local health departments.
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