In recent days, MFS has seen an uptick in COVID cases. This comes as the greater Burlington County region experiences a case increase, too, while hospitalizations and deaths stay relatively low.
On May 2, the MFS COVID dashboard indicated that there were 14 active cases of COVID, meaning that there were 14 individuals in their isolation periods. This was the first significant rise in cases since the end of the mask mandate on March 8.
The Upper School is disproportionately affected by this surge, with numbers consistently above the other divisions. On May 2, there were five active Upper School COVID cases, while both the Middle School had one and Lower School had four.
With this increase, more students are starting to wear masks again, either as a necessity after their five-day isolation period or just as a mitigation measure.
Foluke Balogun ’24 said that due to fluctuating COVID numbers, she “[doesn’t] really know if it’s really safe yet for [her] to take [her] mask off … [the cases] rise and lower, [they] aren’t really set in stone yet.”
An email from Head of School Julia de la Torre on April 26 spoke to the increase in cases. She mentioned that administration “encourage[s] students and employees to consider adding a mask as a layer of mitigation when in crowded settings where distancing may be difficult to maintain” until case rates decline.
Though the numbers are rising again, on both the COVID dashboard and regionally reported stats, the amount of cases is still well below the averages during the Omicron surge. At the dashboard’s height on January 9, it displayed 68 active cases.
As of May 2, MFS has 213 resolved COVID cases from the 2021-22 school year, which includes any individual who has met their isolation requirements. Therefore, about one in four MFS students, faculty, and staff have contracted the virus.
It is unclear if the mask mandate will return. MFS nurse Jen Raue said she had “no idea” whether the mask mandate will come back, and that the school will wait for a cue from the state government. While cases remain higher, Raue said she recommends that students should continue “social distancing if they can … wear[ing] a mask in crowded situations like Meeting for Worship or Community Time and letting people know when they’re sick,” adding,“If they think they have bad allergies, maybe take a test at home.”
