Georgetown Day School was shut down Tuesday because it has community members closely affiliated with the Christ Church Georgetown, where a reverend was diagnosed with the coronavirus over the weekend.
The school announced the decision in a letter addressed to students and staff members, explaining the situation in detail.
“GDS’s risk management team has been closely monitoring the quickly evolving news about COVID-19 in our region, in particular as relates to Christ Church of Georgetown. Because we have community members who are closely affiliated with the church, we have decided to proactively close for a deep clean on Tuesday, March 10. We do not expect this to be a long-term closure,” the school officials said in the letter.
All school activities, including admissions gathering, athletics, performing arts, and open gym and field are also canceled.
The school administrators are planning to consult with the D.C. Department of Health and share an update about when they will reopen depending on the circumstances.
Rev. Timothy Cole, one of the senior leaders at the Christ Church Georgetown, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 7, becoming the first person in the nation’s capital to have the virus.
The Episcopal D.C. church closed its doors and suspended all services and other activities until further notice.
Cole later issued a statement, confirming that he was the person who tested positive for the notorious virus. He was immediately hospitalized.
His wife and two children are currently under quarantine as a precaution. Worshippers who interacted with Cole in recent weeks were urged by D.C. officials to self-quarantine for two weeks starting from the date of the contact.
The School Without Walls High School in Northwest D.C. and The District of Columbia International School were also closed on Monday. The former’s move followed one of its staff members coming in contact with a patient who was later diagnosed with coronavirus.
The District of Columbia International School cited “a deep cleaning of surfaces” as the reason of its closure.
There have been a total of five confirmed cases of coronavirus in the District so far.
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