Students at RSU 39 (Caribou and Stockholm) will learn entirely remotely for the next week after a rise in COVID-19 cases across The County.
The district learned of a “sudden increase” in cases in the district’s immediate vicinity, with some directly affecting schools in the district, Superintendent Timothy Doak said in a letter to parents and guardians near 5 p.m. on Sunday. RSU 39 contains Caribou High School, Caribou Community School and Caribou Regional Technology Center.
The announcement came amid a surge in COVID-19 related closings in Aroostook schools: SAD 45, SAD 24 and SAD 1 are among the school districts currently conducting remote learning after cases within their walls.
RSU 39’s reason for closing differs from school closings across The County in that it was not done because a staff member or student tested positive, but because of a rise in local cases.
Limestone Community School announced it would be closed to in-person learning for two days on Friday after an elementary school student was deemed a presumptive positive case. It is unclear if the closings are related.
The Caribou Community School had gone into remote learning mode after a positive COVID-19 case was found in the school on Nov. 23, only two weeks after the newly built school opened to students on Nov. 9.
On Nov. 30, students returned to learning intermittently in-person under a “yellow model” — an intermediate form of school operating between the completely in-person green and totally remote red — in which different groups of students learn in-person or remotely on different days of the week.
Having 188 cases since the pandemic began, Aroostook County has the lowest COVID-19 rate of any county in Maine as of Dec. 5, though three less populous counties have lower total cases (Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Piscataquis), according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data. There are 68 active cases in The County.
Through Nov. 29, the Maine CDC listed 21 probable or confirmed cases in Caribou, the second most in Aroostook County. Houlton has had 32.
