One middle school student and one high school student in the Fort Dodge Community School District have tested positive for COVID-19, the district told parents this week.

On Tuesday, Jennifer Lane, director of communications for the FDCSD, confirmed that a fifth-grader and a high schooler had tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The district did not specify what grade the high school student is in.

Lane said families of students who have been exposed to the ill students will be notified directly by the local health department.

“We worked directly with Webster County Public Health and Webster County Public Health then makes the connections with families of students who have been exposed,” she said.

Lane said that WCPH defines “exposure” as “within six feet for at least 15 continuous minutes.

“A positive student would not necessarily result in an entire classroom being quarantined,” she said. “It would depend on exposure and seating charts.”

These are the first positive COVID-19 cases in the schools since the school year began last week.

“When we have a positive case, our custodial staff are notified and then they will go into the classroom or classrooms that were affected and do an extra deep cleaning,” Lane said.