New positive COVID-19 cases and related quarantines impacted the school communities of the Regional 4 School District during the week of Jan. 19.

On Jan. 22, the district informed school communities by email that a positive case at John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS) had affected 12 students and 5 staff members.

On Jan. 19, the day students at Valley Regional High School (VRHS) returned for in-person instruction after quarantines related to a positive case of COVID-19 closed the building on Jan. 15, the district was informed of a new positive case affecting VRHS and JWMS.

VRHS was dismissed early on Jan. 19, “due to a staffing shortage in the building due to the quarantine,” said Superintendent of Schools Brian White, in an email.

White said that the “case impacts 49 students and 13 staff members at VRHS. It also impacts four students at JWMS,” with whom the student had ridden the bus to the high school. The school resumed in-person instruction on Jan. 20.

Cases of COVID-19 in the Regional 4 School District come as the Connecticut Department of Public Health released its weekly COVID-19 Alert Map on Jan. 21, showing Chester, Deep River, and Essex in the highest, red zone alert level. A total of 164 of the 169 towns and cities in Connecticut were in the red alert level as of Jan. 21.

The state’s weekly expanded COVID-19 data report from Jan. 21 shows the average daily rate of COVID-19 cases in each of the towns per 100,000 people, not counting any cases in nursing homes or other congregate housing settings, for the two-week time period from Jan. 3 to J16.

Based on this data, Chester had an average daily rate of 25.3, with 15 cases in the two-week time period. Deep River had an average daily rate of 41.6, with 26 cases in the two-week time period. Essex had an average daily rate of 56.7, with 53 cases in the two-week time period.

The state’s expanded report is available at ct.gov/coronavirus.