VIDEO: Superintendent Reports on COVID Cases in Westford School System

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The Westford School Department is keeping tabs on students and educators who have contracted or come into close contact with the COVID-19 virus.

Positive overall cases since mid Sept. to Jan. 19, are 140, Superintendent Bill Olsen said. The student population attending Westford schools is just under 5,ooo, including 1,645 attending Westford Academy for the 2020-21 school year.

“We’re remaining relatively stable in terms of cases, and close contacts — keeping in mind most of this happens outside the school environment,” Olsen said.

While it’s difficult to contrast one school district with another, Westford has about 200 high school students less than the regional Acton-Boxborough high school. According to Niche.com, nearby A-B has 1,837 high school students and about 5,200 students in all.

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There are 19 positive cases among Westford students and nine among staff members, Olsen said.

Close contacts to the positive cases total 75 students and 13 staff members. Since mid September to the end of November, there have been 29 cases among students and staff members, and 140 cases in all from about Sept. 15 to Nov. 30. Close contacts during that same period numbered 114.

From mid September to Jan. 19, there have been a total of 443 close contacts.

“We’re remaining relatively stable in terms of cases, close contacts, keeping in mind most of this happens outside the school environment,” Olsen said.

He did not say whether there have been any COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the school year in September.

“Citing concerns over spiraling COVID-19 cases in November,” according to a local newspaper article, Acton–Boxborough Superintendent Peter Light announced, this fall, the high school would move to a fully remote format until Dec. 7.

Scroll past the Westford numbers to see Acton-Boxboro data.

 WESTFORD – COVID-19

Positive cases (current)

• 9 staff members
• 19 students

Close contacts (current)

• 13 staff members
• 75 students

Cases that occurred from early September to the end of November

• 29 staff members and students

Total cases from mid Sept. to Jan. 19

• 140

Total close contacts between mid Sept. and Jan. 19

• 114

Total close contacts from mid Sept.

to Jan. 19

• 443

ACTON AND ACTON-BOXBORO (Since September 2020)

UPDATE – The total number of cases of COVID-19 within the Westford school system is 140.