Ridgway Area School District has announced that, due to the current trends in COVID-19 cases, remote learning will continue through Jan. 15.

According to school officials, the district’s core pandemic team met Dec. 30 and reviewed the data for the county and Ridgway itself.

Officials stated, based on current data, “Unfortunately, Elk County is high in terms of COVID 19 spread and cases. In reviewing the data for Ridgway, the positivity rate is the highest it has been for our zip code. As of 1-3-2021 the positivity rate for Ridgway is 76.36%; 42/55 people tested are positive for the past 7 days. The incident rate is 664.77 per 100,000 people. The total new positives for the past 7 days is 42 cases. In addition, the hospitalizations are increasing.”

Officials stated there is concern that a post-holiday surge may not be seen for two weeks. However, that raises concerns that case counts will continue to rise, “which puts staff and students at increased risk of exposure and congregate gatherings increase the potential for transmission.”

Therefore, the decision was made to keep students in full remote learning from Jan 4 -8 and Jan 11-15, with no extra curricular activities.

“We recognize the academic, social and emotional stressors that our students are facing due to the totality of the circumstances of the pandemic. The District has a variety of supports and services available to students and families during these difficult times: school counseling resources, mental health resources, and academic support,” the statement said. Officials encourage parents who wish to take advantage of these resources to reach out to their child’s building principal or school counselor.

Parents are asked to check emails or the district’s website for additional details.