Utica, NY – The Whitesboro School District returned to personal classes today after learning a Covid-19 exposure during a distance dance competition on Tuesday.
“We will be teaching again on Wednesday, April 21, to all students who are not under a mandate for quarantine or isolation,” the website of the district, one of the largest provinces in Oneida, said.
Anthony Picente, chief executive of Oneida County, said 20 students from various school districts tested positive in Syracuse this past weekend, and that 300 students were placed in quarantine. Picente did not hit the number of students from each district.
He said some students from a local dance school attended the competition on Saturday, even though they showed symptoms of Covid-19.
“This is our largest group, our fastest group, and there’s a year in it,” Picente told a news conference on Tuesday. “When 300 people are quarantined, people have to stay home from work, some businesses have to close and schools have to close.”
The students who tested positive ranged from 6 to 17 years old.
Province officials did not want to name the dance school or the competition.
No one in Onondaga County has been quarantined, county spokesman Justin Sayles said Tuesday.
“It’s our understanding that (Oneida County officials are still conducting their investigation). So it’s an evolving situation,” Sayles said.