Lower Merion School District closed Tuesday amid coronavirus concerns
NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania will be closed on Tuesday, March 10 over coronavirus concerns.
In a letter to families, Superintendent Robert Copeland said two students and a staff member may have been exposed to COVID-19 during visits to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia facility in King of Prussia, Pa.
A doctor is currently hospitalized at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after acquiring the disease while traveling outside of the United States to a country where COVID-19 is active.
As a precaution, the Lower Merion students and the staff member are under quarantine for 14 days.
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The Montgomery County Office of Public Health told the school district the three individuals pose no risk of transmission since they are not showing any symptoms.
The closure of all LMSD schools on Tuesday is out of an abundance of caution, Copeland said. The buildings will be sanitized while they are closed.
"Special attention will be given to public spaces and high-touch surfaces, such as keyboards, railings, door handles, etc," said Copeland.
"I'm sure there were a lot of people involved in the decision making. I think cleaning the school and slowing down the rates of people going to the hospital is a good thing," said Jenna Shersher, a parent of a kindergartner.
In addition, Copeland said the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit has canceled its Reading Olympics. The schools will be planning a smaller Reading Olympics-type event within each school community and will be sharing information about those plans once they are finalized, Copeland said.
Other schools in the region also announced school closures due to some students' connection with the infected doctor.
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