MENTOR, Ohio — A student who attends Mentor High School has tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bill Porter confirmed Thursday.
According to a letter sent to parents, the student attends in-person classes on the Thursday and Friday hybrid schedule and was in the building just this morning. The student is apparently tested regularly due to their place of employment and left the school upon learning of the latest results, although they are currently not experiencing any symptoms.
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"As you know, we are facing a global health crisis due to the spread of COVID-19 and our community is no exception," Porter wrote. "Please continue to work together to limit the spread of the virus by following the important mitigation guidelines that are in place."
As of now, in-person classes at the high school will continue, but contract tracing is under way and students who share classes with and ride the same bus as the student have already been notified. As soon as the student left, the classrooms they were in were closed for disinfection.
Mentor is just the latest school in Lake County to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as just this week Willoughby-Eastlake shut down all in-person classes at Eastlake Middle School and asked most eighth graders at Willoughby Middle School to quarantine after multiple positive tests. Lake Catholic High School, which uses Mentor's football stadium, also canceled its game last Friday after someone with the Cougars team contracted the disease.
Porter is urging students, parents, and teachers to be vigilant and keep and eye out for possible COVID-19 symptoms, which include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste and/or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Gastrointestinal issues (nausea, vomiting or diarrhea)