Area Schools Grapple With Rising Coronavirus Cases

Schools across the Boston area are contending with COVID-19 outbreaks as Christmas nears.

At Boston Latin School, they are dealing with 36 new positive cases.

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Thursday is the last school day before the holiday break.

The head of Boston Latin calls the new COVID-19 numbers at the school extremely concerning.

Most of the cases involve students in the upper grades, and the exposure was from contact outside of school, whether at a social event or among athletic teams.

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All Boston Public Schools students are heading into the break with at-home COVID-19 test kits to try and curb the spread of the virus.

"I think it’s a great idea because you don’t know what kids are doing, what families are doing, what their interactions are outside of school, so it’s a good idea and if you're sick, stay at home," said one parent of a Boston Latin student, Dominique Ambrose.

Boston is not alone in this effort -- Revere gave all of its students test kits, too.

Revere School Superintendent Dianne Kelly said their students have been participating in pool testing and the test-to-stay program, and that testing is a game-changer.

“Testing is hugely important,” she said. “If we can identify who has COVID, isolate them from the community and keep everybody else safe, then we can continue with our in-person learning.”

Revere would like all of their students to take a COVID-19 test before returning to school in early January. At Boston Latin, the students are required to take the at-home test 24 hours before coming back.