New Harmony High, a school in Mid-City New Orleans, announced late Thursday morning that officials would be "releasing students immediately" due to a "potential off campus exposure" of the novel coronavirus.

Parents were given 20 minutes' notice before students were loaded on school buses to go home, according to a communication sent to parents by Rae Banks, the school's operations coordinator, and shared with The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.

Banks said that New Harmony would be closed "until further notice."

"There are NO known presumptive positive cases in the [New Harmony High] community, nor is anyone being tested at this time," she added in the message. "However we are exercising extreme precaution to keep our entire campus safe."

New Harmony High, a charter school authorized by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, is located at 3368 Esplanade Avenue. It focuses on coastal restoration teaching and has an enrollment of about 43 students grades 9 through 12, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

On Thursday, New Harmony became the second BESE-authorized school in New Orleans to announce closure plans out of possible community exposure to the virus.

Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans announced plans Wednesday evening to close the school until Monday because of "an unconfirmed" exposure, according to an email sent to family members about 7:20 p.m.

Neither BESE nor NOLA Public Schools immediately responded to comment Thursday.

NOLA Public Schools had said Wednesday night that none of the 75 schools authorized by the district had closed, and that the actions by Lycee Francais were not in line with guidelines set forth by the district and federal Centers for Disease Control.

They call for student, faculty or staff members who have come in contact with a presumptive positive case to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.

The district "will continue to adhere to the protocols communicated previously regarding school closures," officials said in an emailed statement then. "Any closure decisions will be made in-line with the CDC’s guidance and recommendations from local and state health agencies."

BESE authorizes five other schools in New Orleans: International High School, International School of Louisiana, JCFA-Algiers, New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy and the Noble Minds Institute for Whole Child Learning.