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20 people now infected in growing COVID outbreak at Montgomery County high school

Montgomery County Public Schools says 20 students and staff have tested positive for COVID at Quince Orchard High School since last Monday.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The number of students and staff who have tested positive for the coronavirus at a Montgomery County school continues to grow.

Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala confirmed to WUSA9 on Sunday that 20 students and staff at Quince Orchard High School, in Gaithersburg, now have the coronavirus.

That's up from 16 as of Thursday evening.

MCPS says despite the increase, the asymptomatic, vaccinated students and staff of Quince Orchard football team will be able to resume practice Monday. The team’s practices were halted last week when several players on the team tested positive for the virus.

MCPS said it came to the conclusion that football practice could resume after consulting with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement, released on Friday, Quince Orchard High School Principal Elizabeth Thomas thanked the public for its continued patience and understanding.

“We appreciate your cooperation as we continue to prioritize the health and safety of the entire Quince Orchard High School community,” she said.

MCPS first alerted the public on Monday, August 16 that one person who had recently been present at the school had tested positive for the disease. On Tuesday, the school district then said the number of people affected had increased to six.

Onijala said, “a good number” of the impacted people are participants on the Quince Orchard football team.

MCPS paused football practices for the team after the outbreak started its spread. However, on Thursday, Onijala said vaccinated players and staff on the Quince Orchard team would soon be allowed to resume non-contact practice drills Friday.

Montgomery County Deputy Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers briefed journalists Wednesday on the current state of the county’s fight against COVID.

He said one or more cases on a team can be considered an outbreak and that, going forward, it will not take that many cases to halt a public school’s team play in Montgomery County.

“If one person on the football team tested positive, or the entire team has tested positive, that entire team needs to isolate,” he said.

Onijala said MCPS was in the process of completing contact tracing for the entire 100-member team.

Bridgers said guidance provided to the football team called on its members to quarantine and seek out tests shortly after the outbreak first occurred.

Fauquier County Public Schools recently placed 244 children in quarantine for possible exposure to the coronavirus. Classes started in that Virginia county on Aug. 11.

Montgomery County Public Schools is slated to begin classes on Aug. 30.

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