(BIVN) – The Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi campus in Keaʻau decided to go to full distance learning – on one day notice – after a student attending the school tested COVID-19 positive.

UPDATE – (8:30 a.m.) – Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense said this morning: “To clarify, the reported case at the Keaʻau campus of Kamehameha Schools is not an active case. The student completed all the Department of Health isolation requirements on August 7th and is symptom free. Kamehameha Schools should be commended for their abundance of caution and care for their students and faculty.”

Here is part of the message that was posted to the Kamehameha Schools website on Wednesday:

Kamehameha Schools has been keenly aware of the evolving COVID-19 surge in different parts of our state, and especially those positive cases that hit closer to home affecting our own KS ʻohana. These cases and the situation have caused concern and indicates a larger community spread. While this situation remains fluid, we too need to be adaptive and pivot quickly in response to these changing conditions.

We will continue to act with an abundance of caution and care, recognizing the concerns of our ʻohana members, and thus, in the interest of health and safety of haumāna, kumu, and ʻohana, our kula will transition to full distance learning beginning tomorrow, August 13 through at least August 31.

Our reopening plans were developed to be responsive to the educational and well-being needs of our haumāna, placing safety as a priority. While our organization still believes that we are at a MODERATE RISK level, this decision to pivot to distance learning acknowledges the impact that current conditions could have on our ʻohana and the communities we serve, erring on the side of caution.

KS enterprise safety leaders will monitor and assess conditions throughout the month of August to see if the curve could be re-flattened so we could resume on campus instruction as we had intended. We will continue to share updates and forecasts for where we may be headed in the days ahead.

Starting tomorrow, August 13, if you were scheduled to be on-campus, look out for more information from your poʻo kumu on ways we will look to connect with you to get you the resources and information you need. Our intention is to keep campus open for business other than student instruction during this time of Distance Learning unless County or State orders dictate otherwise.

We recognize this is an extremely challenging time for all our ʻohana and are grateful for your patience and understanding. The health and safety of our haumāna and kumu are a top priority, and we believe this decision is necessary at this time based on the current surge in COVID-19 cases.