Students won't be back at the Guiteras School for in-person learning until next Thursday, Nov. 5, after Bristol Warren officials closed the school out of "an abundance of caution" following a recent Covid-19 diagnosis.

On Thursday, Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Brice was informed that six students or staff members from the Guiteras School, Mt. Hope High School and Kickemuit Middle School had tested positive for the virus.

Though the news of the Mt. Hope and Kickemuit cases came early enough to allow contract tracing protocols to begin immediately, the case(s) at Guiteras School did not, Dr. Brice said.

"We were notified late yesterday," he said Friday afternoon. "It was too late for contract tracing (before the start of school Friday) so out of an abundance of caution we went to distance learning."

He did not say how many cases were reported at each school, only that Mt. Hope High School had the highest number out of those six.

Though in-person learning at Guiteras won't begin again until late next week, Dr. Brice said students will miss out only on two days of class: Friday, Oct. 30 and Monday, Nov. 2.

Tuesday, Nov. 3 is election day, and he said school officials had planned to go to distance learning on Wednesday, Nov. 4 anyway, as the school needs to be closed that day to allow HVAC crews to install air purifiers in the building.

Those purifiers are being installed in all district schools over the next week or so, he said.

As for staffing at Guiteras and all other district schools, Dr. Brice said, the district is doing OK.

"By and large we are staffed," he said.

"Every day we are monitoring to see how many are out. We have not gotten to the point where the number that are out would lead us to a point where" there is an issue.

Currently, regular full time teaching staff is being augmented by "some teaching fellows and a few long-term substitutes that are filling in for folks who are out for leaves of absence."