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ST. THOMAS — The V.I. Dept. of Education announced at 1:00 a.m. Thursday that one Charlotte Amalie High School senior tested positive for Covid-19 on May 17, and two Ivanna Eudora Kean High School seniors tested positive for the virus and were in quarantine as of Wednesday.
The department also revealed that the C.A.H.S. student who was confirmed to have contracted the disease had participated in the May 13 protest, while the two I.E.K.H.S. students were last on campus on May 13 to participate in graduation activities and came in direct contact with at least three other students.
"The Department of Health has informed school and district officials that the affected students, and other students with whom they were in close contact, are required to quarantine and cannot attend graduation ceremonies planned for Eudora Kean on May 20 and Charlotte Amalie on May 21," said the D.O.E. release.
The cases at the two high schools were revealed to the Dept. of Education within hours of each other, according to the release, with the health department revealing the C.A.H.S. case mid-afternoon and the two I.E.K.H.S. cases after 5:00 p.m.
D.O.E. said that after presenting symptoms for several days, the C.A.H.S. student was tested for Covid-19 on May 17 and received a positive diagnosis that day.
The C.A.H.S. student was last on campus for Senior Week activities on May 17 and came in direct contact with at least nine other students. During the May 13 protest, at least 20 protesters gathered outside the Department of Education’s main headquarters and on the steps of the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Building, while approximately 50 protesters gathered outside the superintendent’s office at the Edith Williams Alternative Academy, according to the release.
D.O.E. has contacted the students' parents as well as the schools' faculty and staff to notify them of the exposure, according to the D.O.E. release. The Dept. of Health will continue to conduct contact tracing.
The Dept. of Education is moving forward with its walk-thru graduation events in the St. Thomas-St. John District to be hosted Thursday and Friday for I.E.K.H.S. and C.A.H.S. respectively at 1:00 p.m.
