Traverse City Central High School will reopen for face-to-face instruction Friday after campus was closed Wednesday and Thursday and classes moved online after a positive coronavirus case was linked to the school.

According to Traverse City Area Public School (TCAPS), Central High School was moved to virtual instruction as a precaution to allow time for the Grand Traverse County Health Department to complete contact tracing. With contract tracing efforts now complete, students and staff members not identified as close contacts and not instructed by the Health Department to quarantine or self-isolate were cleared to resume school-related activities beginning after the school day Thursday. Those activities include athletic games, practices, and other extracurricular events and activities. As an additional precaution, the school was deep cleaned and disinfected and buses and other potentially affected areas received an additional cleaning and disinfection while the campus was closed.

The Health Department directly notified any close contacts who may need to take additional health measures. If a student or staff member was not contacted by the Health Department, it means that they were not identified as a close contact of the person who tested positive and can continue daily activities, according to TCAPS.

“While no school wishes to be impacted by COVID-19, our families have remained supportive and understanding through difficult circumstances,” says TCAPS Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner. “We are grateful for our students, families, and staff who shifted quickly to remote learning. We are also grateful for the swift response by the Grand Traverse County Health Department to complete their contact tracing efforts as quickly as they did, which has allowed us to resume in-person school on Friday.”