Upshur County Schools and the Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department received confirmation that a student in our district has tested positive for COVID-19.  

The Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department has been working closely with Upshur County Schools and identified persons who have had close contact with them including students, staff, family members and friends.  Those that need to be quarantined are being contacted by the health department.   

The Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department notified those who were known to be in close contact with the positive individual. If there is a chance you may have been exposed and the health department can trace that activity to you, you will be notified. Please understand that contact tracing and testing take time and that there are levels of contact: low, medium and high.   

Immediate notification was made while maintaining confidentiality when a close contact was confirmed and communicated to Upshur County Schools.  

Our students and staff have done a great job wearing masks and social distancing at school in order to help prevent exposure. We will continue to take appropriate action working with and under the guidance of health officials to protect the safety and well-being of our students and staff. 

To keep our schools open to our children, it will take our entire community following established COVID-19 protocol including hand washing, facial covering use, social distancing, and proper hygiene. We appreciate your on-going support and commitment to the health of Upshur County.  

Update from Superintendent Dr. Sara Lewis-Stankus – 8:30 p.m. Tuesday: Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding our first positive case in the school system. We understand your desire and need for additional information; however, we take our responsibility to protect the privacy of our students and their families very seriously. We have reached out to our local authorities for guidance, and as such, we can release the name of the school which is Buckhannon Academy Elementary School. However, we are unable to release specific names, grade levels, etc.