A post-Thanksgiving holiday surge in COVID-19 cases in Northampton Area School District has shut down in-person instruction.

As of Dec. 14, NASD has been notified of 103 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the school year.

The shutdown of face-to-face instruction for 5,500 kindergarten through grade 12 students began Dec. 14 and continues through the winter holiday break until Jan. 11, 2021.

NASD schools were to have been closed for winter break Dec. 24 through Jan. 1, 2021, originally reopening the week of Jan. 4, 2021.

In announcing the reasons for the shutdown, NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik cited staff shortages.

In a separate but related move, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, in a Dec. 10 executive order, announced, “All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural and intramural sports are paused.

“Outdoor gatherings and events of more than 50 persons are prohibited. Indoor gatherings and events of more than 10 persons are prohibited,” Wolf announced. “Indoor operations at gyms and fitness facilities are prohibited. Outdoor facilities and outdoor classes can continue, but all participants must wear face coverings.”

The commonwealth’s new, limited-time mitigation order took effect Dec. 12 and remains in effect until 8 a.m. Jan. 4, 2021.

The NASD Board of Education will meet 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21 in the cafeteria of Northampton Area Middle School, 1617 Laubach Ave. The meeting is open to the public. Face masks and social distancing are required.

However, because of Wolf’s latest indoor gatherings restriction, it’s uncertain as to whether the board will meet in person or virtually.

Kovalchik made the announcement of the curtailment of in-person instruction 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 on Twitter, the NASD website and in a YouTube video chat. The video chat was to have been followed up with a Dec. 10 email from Kovalchik to parents, guardians and staff.

“The primary reason for closing is staffing concerns and the increased number of eLearning students,” Kovalchik said.

In Dec. 8, 9, 10 and 11 letters to district parents, guardians and staff, Kovalchik stated NASD was notified of 11 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases. Those letters and previous letters are posted on the NASD website, nasdschools.org.

“There will be no face-to-face instruction the week of Jan. 4,” Kovalchik said in his latest video chat. “Since we returned from Thanksgiving, we’ve had 37 positive COVID cases. It’s a concern.

“We are averaging approximately 70 staff members who are out every day,” Kovalchik said. “As you can imagine, it is very difficult to run an operation when you have that many staff members out. The majority of that is because it’s COVID-related.

“Currently, we have 266 students who are in quarantine. And out of those 266, approximately 65 of those students are awaiting their test results in regards to COVID. We’re assuming we’re going to have many more positive cases coming our way.

“The numbers keep climbing up, and it’s just becoming a huge issue for us in regards to delivering eLearning instruction as well as the face-to-face,” Kovalchick continued. “Our eLearning numbers are up. Back in August, we were at 25 percent. We’re approaching 34 percent right now. Many of our eLearning classes at the elementary level are 35 to 40 students, and at the middle school and high school, we’re at 50 and possibly some in the 60s.

“I think it’s important at this time that we take a step back here and regroup and try to mitigate this as much as we possibly can in the coming weeks,” Kovalchik said in the video.

“Look forward to the future because the future looks bright,” Kovalchik said in the video chat. “As you know, the vaccine is starting to get out there to folks, and hopefully, that will come sooner rather than later for most of us and we can get back to five days a week and have our students back in the buildings, for academic reasons, of course, but as well as for socialization and all those extracurricular activities and, really, for what school is all about.”