Gomes Elementary School staff member tests positive for COVID-19

The following statement was provided to us from Arthur Motta the Community & Public Affairs Manager for the New Bedford Public Schools:

“We had an excellent opening today with Cohort A students (about 5% of NBPS students) arriving in person while all others were engaging from home. Unfortunately, a member of the Gomes Elementary School community recently tested positive for COVID-19 on September 15. We immediately notified the City of New Bedford Health Department and the contact tracing process was implemented. Close contacts, as defined by the Massachusetts DESE COVID-19 Protocols, were notified and are now working remotely. The individual has not been on campus since Friday and will remain quarantined for 14 days. The daily protocol of disinfecting was also doubled, with an additional round of cleaning and disinfecting.”

The New Bedford Mayor’s office confirmed that the individual who tested positive was a staff member, not a student.