Hello Spring

April 1, 2021

Dear Smithfield Staff and Families,

This 38th edition of the Return to School report includes our weekly report on COVID cases, updated school guidance, and town data. 

A Weekly Report on COVID Cases

Six (6) new COVID cases were reported in our school community this past week.  Two cases were from Winsor. McCabe, GMS, SHS and LaPerche each had one new case and no cases were reported at Old County. This brings our total number of cases to 310 since the start of the school year.  

Updated Guidance for Schools 

Governor McKee released updated guidance at his news conference this afternoon.  Beginning April 26th, bus capacity will increase to 75%, cafeteria use will be expanded, and the spacing between students will officially change to 3 feet.  Smithfield will be reviewing the official guidance and its impact on our ability to bring more students back to school for daily in-person instruction.  

Vigilance

Dr. Alexander-Scott reported that 24 out of 29 communities have seen an uptick in cases this past week.  Smithfield is one of the communities realizing more significant increases.  Please remain vigilant to stop the spread of the virus.  If your child is experiencing any symptoms, please do not send them to school.  Testing appointments can be made by either calling the K-12 COVID-19 test scheduling service at 844-857-1814 Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on the weekend from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or creating an account on portal.ri.gov

Town Data

The number of cases in Smithfield increased and was reported to be 99 this past week. This latest figure corresponds to a daily rate of 14.1 new cases per 21,650 residents or 65.1 per 100,000 in a day or a 455 per 100,000 weekly rate. This data is available at https://bit.ly/2PxCgDM.  

Sincerely,

Judy Paolucci, Superintendent