Westport Public Schools are planning to include a remote option for students who have symptoms of COVID-19 as of Jan. 28. This decision came along with news from the Connecticut Department of Public that Connecticut’s COVID-19 positivity rate has hit 24.55% as of Jan. 7, a record high from the start of the pandemic due to the new Omicron variant.

Similarly, the COVID-19 rates at Westport Public Schools have also increased, with 253 cases being reported between Jan. 2 and Jan. 6. Nearly half of these cases, about 114, were reported at Staples High School. 

This announcement came in the form of an email sent to Westport families on Wednesday from Superintendent Thomas Scarice.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Graphic by Jake Fitzpatrick ’22

Just as Westport’s test positivity rate has increased, so too has Connecticut’s test positivity rate, hitting a record high of 24.55% on Jan. 7. This growth demonstrates how fast the new Omicron variant spreads.

“With the increase in numbers of students who are in isolation,” Scarice said, “we want all students and staff demonstrating any symptoms to stay home.” 

This option will include students who have COVID-19, come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and students who live with relatives who are immunocompromised.

This decision comes among an announcement from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on Tuesday Jan. 4 that he will continue to disincentivize online learning, even as Connecticut’s COVID-19 positivity rate hits record highs by continuing to disallow online schooling from counting towards the total number of necessary school days.

​​”I’m going to do everything I can to keep kids in the classroom,” Lamont said. “There’s nothing that compares to a great teacher in a classroom.”