Santa Ynez school closes after student tests positive for COVID-19

January 14, 2021

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District canceled in-person instruction and shut down its northern Santa Barbara County campus for the remainder of January after a student contracted coronavirus.

Santa Ynez Valley Union High School students returned to distance learning on Thursday. In-person classes will not resume until Feb. 2, district Superintendent Scott Cory stated in a letter to parents.

The student who contracted coronavirus was on campus and asymptomatic for two days prior to exhibiting symptoms and eventually testing positive. Because of the number of staff exposures that occurred, it is not possible to effectively cover the classrooms of impacted teachers who are required to quarantine for 14 days under Santa Barbara County public health guidelines, Cory wrote.

Officials have notified all staff and students who were in close contact with the affected student. The district says it is not required to shut down the campus, but it is doing so anyway out of an abundance of caution.

“Students need to be in school, to be certain, but we can only do so if we work together to stay open,” Cory stated.