MOUNDSVILLE — A total of 47 students and staff from Sherrard Middle School and McNinch Elementary School in Marshall County are being quarantined after one case of COVID-19 was reported at each of the schools over the weekend.

In-class learning is now canceled for the next two weeks at the schools. All other Marshall County schools are open, but those are following the Level 3 hybrid schedule with two-days of in-school classes each week and three days of remote learning.

“We know our kids need to be in school, and we want our students in school,” Superintendent Shelby Haines said. “We are doing all we can to make sure everyone is safe, and with us as much as possible.”

School officials received word of the positive test results of the two employees Sunday afternoon. After this, they contacted the Marshall County Health Department and began to work with the schools’ principals to do contract tracing and determine just how many staff and students might have been exposed to the virus.

Each affected person and their families next were contacted, she said.

At Sherrard, three staff and 25 students were exposed and must be quarantined for up to 14 days, according to Marshall County Health Department Administrator Tom Cook. At McNinch, nine staff and 10 students were affected.

Haines said staff is continuing to evaluate how they are doing with the situation, and how they can improve.

Staff at the schools not testing positive for COVID will continue to report for work and be in the buildings each day, Haines said. They will be available to answer facts about schooling or the health situation at the school.

Parents with questions first should contact their child’s classroom teacher either by phone or email, Haines said. If further discussion is necessary, they should reach out to the building principal.

Sherrard and McNinch students will do all remote learning through Sept. 28, school officials announced. Students are scheduled to return that date on the Level 3 schedule.