On March 15, the Regional 4 School District announced by email that 62 students and 11 staff members were asked to quarantine after exposure to positive cases of COVID-19 at Deep River Elementary School (DRES), John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS), and Valley Regional High School (VRHS).

“The events of early Monday morning were certainly a reminder that we are still very much in the midst of this pandemic despite things overall trending in the right direction,” said Superintendent of Schools Brian White at a March 18 Deep River Board of Education meeting.

The state’s Department of Public Health data, as of March 17, shows the number of cases and average daily rate of COVID-19 cases in the communities of Chester, Deep River, and Essex during the two-week period from Feb. 28 to March 13.

Chester had 7 cases and an average daily rate of 11.8, denoted by orange, the second highest alert category on the state’s COVID alert map. Deep River had 15 cases and an average daily rate of 24, denoted by red, which is the highest alert category. Essex had 7 cases and an average daily rate of 7.5, denoted by yellow, a step below orange on the state’s COVID alert map.

White discussed the quick decision making that typically occurs when positive cases are identified in the morning.

“It’s very difficult when we receive notice early in the morning because there is a very limited time to make decisions with respect to busing and whether or not schools should continue open. So the team pulled together Monday morning,” said White.

DRES has seen relatively fewer cases of COVID-19 when compared with other schools in the district, according to the state’s open data portal for COVID-19 in PreK-12 schools.

“It’s one of the first times we’ve had to make such a decision at Deep River this year,” said White. “Other schools in our district have contended with many more quarantines.”

As of state data released on March 18, Essex Elementary School has seen the highest cumulative number of positive COVID-19 cases of the Region 4 schools, followed by VRHS and then JWMS. Chester and Deep River elementary schools have the lowest cumulative number of positive cases, according to state data.