The entire sixth grade at a D.C. middle school is quarantining after at least one person in the school building tested positive for COVID-19.

The 129 students at John Hayden Johnson Middle School in Southeast are learning from home after contact tracers determined the students were in close contact with a person who tested positive, according to a statement from D.C. Public Schools, which educates about 50,000 students.

“Informing a school community when there is a positive reported case of COVID-19 in their building is one of our three pillars for a healthy and safe learning environment,” the statement said.

The coronavirus case at Johnson was identified about a week after most public school students in the District began the 2021-2022 year and as city officials face increasing pressure to provide more virtual learning options.

As of Tuesday, 40 staff members and 73 students in D.C. Public Schools have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from the school system. Across 37 schools, 118 staff and 847 students are quarantining.

“The student figure includes a reported case at Johnson Middle School where, as of September 7, the 6th grade class of 129 students were determined to be close contacts of a reported case and are currently learning virtually,” said the statement from DCPS.

The school system sent letters to families at the affected schools. Families at Johnson received a letter yesterday informing them a person who tested positive for the coronavirus was last on campus Sept. 3.

“Persons for whom we know were in close contact with the positive individual were notified and provided guidance on next steps, including how any students impacted would receive instruction during quarantine,” Principal Latisha Coleman said in the letter.

A person is considered a “close contact” if they are within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes, according to DC Health. In schools, students are not considered close contacts of other students if they are within 3 to 6 feet of one another and other mitigation measures are in place, including masking, physical distancing, and proper ventilation.

Overall daily coronavirus case rates have dramatically increased across the city in recent weeks, likely because of the highly-transmissible delta variant. Coronavirus transmission is as high as it was in February, before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has assured families of health and safety measures on campuses. All schools are requiring face masks indoors, cafeterias are set up for social distancing, and all staff must get vaccinated or submit to weekly coronavirus testing.

During a press conference last month, she said cases in schools will likely rise as more students return to classrooms, as they did when summer camps opened.

“We will see more cases, but we don’t anticipate those cases will be more than what we see in the general population,” Bowser said, adding that the city monitors cases daily and will inform families of any troubling trends.

D.C. Public Schools, which educates more than half of the city’s public schoolchildren, said it will also randomly test at least 10% of asymptomatic students each week. It is unclear how many of the positive coronavirus cases in the school system were identified through asymptomatic testing.

These assurances have done little to allay many worried parents, especially those of young children who are not yet eligible to get a vaccine.

The surge in cases has prompted a renewed push for virtual learning options by families and lawmakers. Bowser has held firm on her plan to fully reopen campuses, and the city is only allowing students to opt-out of in-person instruction if a physician deems it medically necessary.

Other advocates have urged education officials to create more robust virtual learning programs because many students will likely have to quarantine this year and spend some period of time learning from home.

Last month, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said students in quarantine will either learn independently or receive live virtual instruction. The type of instruction will depend on the number of students quarantining and the teacher’s availability.

City officials have not set standards describing when they would close school buildings because of coronavirus cases. During a call with the D.C. Council a few days before most students returned to classrooms, Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn said he does not anticipate schools will have to revert fully to virtual learning.

He acknowledged some classes might have to transition temporarily to distance learning if teachers must stay home but he said he does not anticipate buildings will have to close. Staff and students do not need to quarantine after they are exposed to someone who tests positive if they are fully vaccinated.

“There is a tipping point for some schools and it will vary school to school, operationally, where they might not be able to provide in-person for a class or a grade level,” Kihn said.

At Johnson, all teachers and staff who work with the sixth grade students are also in quarantine, according to Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union. Lyons said staff who test negative for the coronavirus will return to work Monday.

“Teachers are in quarantine and they can and will be teaching virtually, unless they are sick,” she said, adding teachers supported the decision to quarantine. “The delta variant has shown us that we are going to have to continue to pivot.”

Carlene Reid, who represents Ward 8 on the D.C. State Board of Education, which includes Johnson middle, has urged the city to provide full virtual instruction this year to all students who want it.

She said shifting instruction online with little notice because students need to quarantine is disruptive to learning.

“Let’s acknowledge, as a city, we need to pivot and maybe do something different and offer options that support all families,” she said. “We’re not doing a good job of assuring people that these alleged systems in place are really going to keep everyone safe.”

This story was updated to clarify a person at Johnson Middle School tested positive for COVID-19. D.C. Public Schools did not identify if that person was a student, staff or visitor.