Golden Valley High student and employee test positive for COVID-19

Dan Watson/The Signal.
Share on facebook
Share
Share on twitter
Tweet
Share on email
Email

A student and an employee at Golden Valley High School have tested positive for COVID-19, William S. Hart Union High School District officials confirmed Friday.

“One student and one employee at Golden Valley reported testing positive for COVID-19.  Neither had any symptoms, and the cases are unrelated. The student and employee are isolating per (Los Angeles County Public Health Department) guidelines,” according to Dave Caldwell, public information officer for the Hart district.

The job title of the employee who tested positive was not released, Caldwell said, per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act meant to protect an individual’s identity in health settings.

The date the student and employee tested positive also was not being released by the district, according to Caldwell.

A member of the district’s community was confirmed to test positive for COVID-19 last week, according to Caldwell. Caldwell confirmed on Oct. 20 there had been at least one case, though he said he could not clarify the exact number of confirmed cases, nor the school in which the cases had been located. The Signal later was able to confirm from the Hart District Teachers Association that Rio Norte Junior High School Principal Audrey Aspland sent out a notice to staff about contact tracing that was being conducted due to a COVID-19 diagnosis tied to the campus.

That report was followed by a call from the teachers union for more transparency from the district regarding the reporting of cases, ahead of Assembly Bill 685. The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 17 and taking effect Jan. 1, mandates a workplace to report a COVID-19 case within 24 hours. 

Hart district board President Linda Storli also confirmed last week she knew of one case that had happened over a month ago, but was not aware of any specifics or any additional new cases.

Administrators in the district have decided to voluntarily self-isolate themselves due to other reasons not related to the positive cases at Golden Valley High School, Caldwell added.

“There are some administrators in the district who have self-elected to quarantine themselves because they may have come into contact with an individual who had tested positive,” said Caldwell.

The exact number of administrators who are voluntarily self-isolating was not disclosed, according to Caldwell.

Related To This Story

Latest NEWS