Oxford Area High School reopens after a measles case prompted its closure
The high school was closed to students and staff Friday after a confirmed measles case prompted Chester County’s health department to direct the school to verify the vaccination status of employees.
In-person learning resumed Monday at Oxford Area High School after classes were canceled last week as the district collected employees’ vaccination statuses following a confirmed measles case.
In a message posted to its website, Superintendent David Woods said that the district worked with health officials “to ensure that all necessary measures have been taken to support a safe return for students and staff.”
“The building has undergone appropriate cleaning and sanitization procedures, and we are confident in the measures implemented to welcome our school community back safely,” he wrote.
Staff and students who are unvaccinated “have been, or will be” contacted about quarantining for up to 21 days, he added. The district did not disclose how many people were affected by quarantine.
The high school was closed to students and staff Friday after a confirmed measles case prompted Chester County’s health department to direct the school to verify the vaccination status of its employees, Woods said in a letter last week.
Schools are required by state law to track and report data for all required vaccines — including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine — for students but not for staff.
Officials canceled scheduled homecoming events, but allowed for a high school football game, hosted in Kennett Square, to proceed, according to a Facebook post.
The closure came as Chester County has seen an increasing number of measles cases, more than most entire states in the country, with most of its more than 80 cases along the western border with Lancaster County, where the outbreak is centered. Pennsylvania has the largest outbreak in the nation, sickening more than 1,100 people across more than half of the state’s counties.
Districts in other outbreak areas have not closed schools, but Oxford wasn’t alone last week. In nearby West Grove, Technical College High School Pennock’s Bridge Campus operated virtually on Friday after Chester County health officials notified its administrators of possible measles exposures between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2.
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