MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Health Department has identified COVID-19 clusters at two more Manchester School District schools. A cluster is defined as three or more cases in the same classroom or group during the same 14-day timeframe. The two new clusters were identified at the Middle School at Parkside and Webster Elementary School. Clusters were previously identified at Parker Varney Elementary School, Central High School and Manchester School of Technology.
We have already notified anyone who was identified as a close contact of any of the cases in these clusters. The clusters will be reported to the NH Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Health Department’s regular infectious disease reporting process. At this time, there is no additional action required, and this notice is for informational purposes only.
Help slow the surge: Cases of COVID-19 continue to surge here and across the country. This is expected to only get worse due to travel and gatherings for Thanksgiving. We all want to get back to normal – the decisions we make every day are what will help stop this surge and help us get back to the things we miss. As you head toward the end of the year, please keep this in mind, and focus on these five things:
- To universally wear masks.
- Maintain physical distancing.
- Avoid congregate settings or crowds.
- Do more outdoors, as opposed to indoors.
- Wash hands frequently.
COVID-19 email notifications: We have made a change to part of our notification process regarding positive COVID-19 cases. Any time anyone is identified as a close contact of a positive case, we will continue to notify that person directly. The change comes in how we notify the rest of the school community of positive cases. If there are positive cases at your school, you will receive an email once a week on Fridays. If there are no positive cases in your school, you will not receive any email.
We track all cases on our COVID-19 dashboard, including cases in which the student or staff member was not on campus. You can find our dashboard here.
Crossing guards: With most students in remote status, we have reassigned or placed on furlough some of our crossing guards. The following are intersections that no longer have a crossing guard on site:
- Spruce Street at Beech Street
- Valley Street at Beech Street
- Auburn Street at Beech Street
- Spruce Street at Beech Street
- Lake Street at Beech Street
- Green Street at Union Street
- Parkside Street at Sullivan Street
- Hayward Street at Jewett Street
- Jewett Street School
- S. Jewett Street at Vinton Street
- Alsace Street at Kelly Street
- Alsace Street at Mason Street
- Youville Street at Mason Street
- Boynton Street at AllenStreet
- Smyth Street at Bruce Road
- Webster School
Food assistance: Manchester School District is delivering meals by bus, and offering meals for pickup at some school locations. You can find information on locations and times online at www.mansd.org/covid-19-
Community partners also provide the following meal options:
- Weekend meal bags: Available on Fridays at any school meal pickup site, or on the school bus routes. You can also pick these up at the YMCA on Fridays (info below).
- YMCA grab-and-go meals: The YMCA of Downtown Manchester continues to offer grab-and-go meals for youths 18 and younger Monday through Friday. You can pick up meals on the Stark Street side of the building between the hours of 4:30 and 5:30 pm.
- Mobile food pantry: The New Hampshire Food Bank will hold a mobile food pantry the next two Fridays (Dec. 11 and Dec. 18) from 11 am to 1 pm in Manchester at the Comcast facility on Island Pond Road (enter from East Industrial Park Drive).
