GUILDERLAND — New cases of COVID-19 were announced in two separate emails by Guilderland school leaders on Friday evening.

Superintendent Marie Wiles wrote that the district had learned of five cases either late on Thursday or on Friday.

At Farnsworth Middle School, Wiles wrote, there were two unrelated presumed positive cases and people who needed to quarantine were contacted by school leaders.

“As a result of the need for several faculty and staff to quarantine, students and team teachers from the Seneca 6G team and faculty, staff and students in Pine Bush Grade 5 at FMS will transition to remote-only instruction for Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22,” Wiles wrote.

Michael Laster, the middle-school principal, sent an email about a half-hour before Wiles, notifying Farnsworth families of a new case — presumably one of the two listed by Wiles — that require Pine Bush fifth-graders to learn remotely on Monday and Tuesday.

In order to leave space for social-distancing at the district’s five elementary schools, fifth-graders are learning  in designated spaces in the middle school this year. 

All other Farnsworth students and staff, who are not otherwise quarantined, will return for in-person instruction on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Guilderland High School also had two new cases. One person has not been onsite at all and the second had very limited contact with others, Wiles wrote.

Due to staffing shortages caused by quarantines from previous cases, the high school remains on remote instruction next week. Hybrid instruction will resume on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.

Finally, Lynnwood Elementary School had one new case, but the person was not in the building during the time of infection, so no contact tracing is required.

Wiles concluded her email to “GCSD Families”: “We are all looking forward to the start of a new year and our students’ return for in-person instruction on January 4. To sustain our learning model, we ask that everyone be vigilant in following all safety procedures both in and out of school, including wearing a mask, maintaining proper social distancing, and avoiding group gatherings with individuals outside of your household. Doing so will make a difference in 2021!

The state’s COVID-19 Report Card, as of Friday evening, says that Guilderland has had 48 cases of COVID-19 so far this school year. This includes: 31 at the high school, seven at the middle school, four at Lynnwood Elementary School, three at Altamont Elementary School, and one each at Guilderland, Pine Bush, and Westmere elementary schools.