ELY- Ely Public School District 696 officials announced late Friday afternoon that an individual in the schools has tested positive for COVID-19.

“ We were notified by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) of a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in a member of the Washington Elementary and a member of the Ely Memorial Community with a last attendance date of 9/11/20,” a note posted to the district’s Facebook page said.

The announcement comes on the heels of the district’s announcement that it would change to a hybrid learning model for middle and high school students next week due to a recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases in the community. Elementary students will continue with in-person classroom learning.

In its announcement of the positive COVID-19 case, the district said the overall risk of exposure to students and staff is minimal.

 “We have worked with the MDH to identify those who had close contact with the case, and have communicated with them individually. The risk of exposure for other individuals present in the building on that date is no greater than the risk of contracting the virus in the general community, the release said. We understand that this may create unease in our community. We have taken action to clean and sanitize the facility and are working closely with MDH to monitor the situation.

Those who did not come into close contact with the affected individual should monitor for symptoms of illness, but do not need to stay home unless symptoms develop. If a person starts showing symptoms of COVID-19 they should stay home and consult with a physician.

The district emphasized the importance of minimizing the possibility of spreading the virus by complying with the following guidelines:

● Protect yourself and others by wearing a face-covering when it is hard to stay 6 feet away from people; washing your hands often with soap and water; covering your cough and sneeze, and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands.

● If you are sick, stay home from child care and other activities.

● Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home. Keep enough food, regular prescription drugs, and other necessities on hand in case you need to stay home and are not able to go out easily.

● Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces (e.g., telephones, doorknobs, countertops, etc.).

 If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your physician to determine if medical evaluation is needed. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, MDH recommends:

1. Stay at home for at least 10 days, and for 24 hours with no fever and improvement of other symptoms (Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine).
2. Use the CDC website on how to Care for yourself at Home with COVID-19.
3. If your household contacts were exposed to you while you had symptoms, they should try to stay home as much as possible for 14 days.