A staff member at Castle Rock Charter School has tested positive for COVID-19, Del Norte County Office of Education officials said Friday.

The staff member hasn’t come into contact with other employees or students at the charter school or at any other campus in Del Norte County, according to DNCOE spokesman Michael Hawkins.

“None of our teachers in the district have been asked to come in physically,” Hawkins told the Wild Rivers Outpost, adding that Castle Rock falls under the County Office of Education’s jurisdiction rather than Del Norte Unified School District though the two entities share office and staff. “We’ve been doing all of our back-to-school training and professional development and planning through Zoom.”

Castle Rock staff are cleaning and disinfecting the exposed location immediately, according to the school’s administration.

Hawkins said he didn’t know if the infected person was a teacher, adding that Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act rules require the DNCOE to keep certain information confidential.

Two new COVID-19 cases were reported to the Del Norte Public Health Branch on Thursday, bringing the total number of active cases in the county to 12. Both were contacts to a known case and were directed to test. Both patients are isolating themselves at home, according to the Public Health Branch.

There have been a total of 114 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Del Norte County and three hospitalizations. One patient died of complications due to COVID-19 on Monday.

Meanwhile, Del Norte teachers have been taking part in professional development sessions remotely starting on Thursday, Hawkins said.

Del Norte Unified trustees last week decided on a phased approach to the 2020-21 school year, starting with online learning on Aug. 31. Transitioning into phases two and three will depend on Del Norte County’s overall progress in curtailing the spread of COVID-19.

Phase 2, which includes students coming back to campus in small groups for specialized instruction, is expected to start Sept. 14, according to Hawkins. For K-8 students, Phase 3, or blended learning, will kick in on Oct. 5 assuming Del Norte hasn’t had an increase in COVID-19 cases, according to Hawkins.

For more information about the DNCOE’s response to COVID-19, click here. To view the agency’s COVID-19 response flow chart directly, click here.

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