Parlier Unified closing schools because of coronavirus concerns

Parlier Unified is closing two of its schools the remainder of this week due to concerns of the coronavirus.

The school district announced Tuesday evening that Parlier High and Brletic Elementary will be closed until Monday after the Fresno County Department of Health identified that a Parlier Unified student recently traveled to an area of risk for the coronavirus COVID-19.

The Fresno County Department of Health stated that the student is “an extremely low risk.”

Nonetheless, the school district decided to take additional measures to minimize any further risks.

“Parlier staff will perform a thorough and deep cleaning of all surfaces in all rooms and buildings at Parlier High School to further ensure the health and safety of our students,” Parlier principal Dr. George Alvarado said in a statement.

Parlier High and Brletic Elementary are on the same campus and share a cafeteria.

The five other schools in Parlier Unified (San Joaquin Valley High, Parlier Jr. High, Benavidez Elementary, Chavez Elementary and Martinez Elementary) will remain open as usual, according to Scott Griffin, the school district’s human resource director.

Griffin added that the district was holding a board meeting Tuesday night to discuss and decide on more details of its closure.

Over the weekend, Fresno County was hit with its first case of the coronavirus after a pair of travelers returned from a cruise and presented themselves for testing afterward.

One of the tests returned as a presumptive positive case.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 7:53 PM.