A worrying trend of covid-19 cases and exposure among high school students at Queen’s College has prompted the private school to suspend face-to-face learning in its high school, effective immediately.
The Methodist school said the decision was the result of a weeklong investigation into covid-19 cases among older students and the “significant number of students” listed as direct contacts of covid positive cases.
“We have been actively investigating reported positive COVID-19 cases in the High School for more than a week. We are concerned about the number of cases and the impact they could have on the school. In addition to students who have tested positive, we have a significant number of students who are named as direct contacts and therefore should remain at home,” the school said.
The covid spike among QC High School students comes as The Bahamas records an increase in covid-19 cases. New cases have doubled in the last two weeks, with the country confirming 31 new cases on Monday. 28 of those cases were on New Providence. 166 cases were recorded between May 2 and May 8. 91 cases were recorded between April 25 and May 1.
Queen’s College fears that if the covid situation on-campus continues unabated, it could affect the number of students well enough to sit for end-of-year and National examinations.
“We know that if this situation is left unattended, it could result in many students being unable to sit their BJC, BGCSE and End of Year Examinations for Grades 7, 10 and some students in Grades 8, 9. Our internal, End of Year Examinations are also important as they largely determine the final grade for each subject that a child will receive on his/her report card.”
The high school will close for face-to-face learning and assume virtual learning for seven school days. The school will reopen for face-to-face instruction on May 23.
The move comes as a blow to high school students, who returned to campuses full-time late last year for the first time since the first covid-19 case was confirmed in The Bahamas in March 2020.