Brainerd High School started day one of a two-week shutdown for in-person learning due to coronavirus concerns at the school.

Superintendent Laine Larson explained that the reasoning behind moving to distance learning for the next two weeks comes from concern with a cluster of positive cases reported within the high school’s student body.

All activities at the high school, including sports, will also be shut down for the two-week period, though sporting events went on as scheduled last evening. Larson explained that she and other district officials decided against canceling last night’s events due to none of the student-athletes being among the coronavirus positive cases confirmed.

For Larson, it was an entire summer’s worth of work for her and her staff in planning this year’s back-to-school model, and she said she was heartbroken to have to shut down in-person learning for a period of time so early in the school year.

By — Brad Hamilton