COVID-19 cluster forces closure of North Drive Elementary

North Drive Elementary will be closed indefinitely — and the school will transition to all-remote learning — as Wayne County Public Schools officials keep an eye on what the district has characterized as its first COVID-19 cluster.

The announcement was made Thursday afternoon.

“The school had four reported cases between October 6 and October 9. Today, we learned about two additional cases,” Interim Superintendent Dr. James Merrill said in a news release. “Based on contract tracing, we believe these cases are connected.”

North Drive has already been “deep cleaned by a professional cleaning service” and will be again before students return and the local health department has been notified.

Last week, Brogden Primary was closed after eight positive cases “impacting the school” were reported.

North Drive is the third Wayne County school to move to all virtual this fall because of COVID-19. Wayne Christian, which is not a part of the local school district, closed temporarily last month and remains the biggest COVID cluster in the state, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.