MURRAY, Utah — The Murray City School District announced Thursday that out of an abundance of caution, they will be closing their schools until further notice beginning on Friday.

The district says they made this decision after they became aware of potential direct contact exposure to COVID-19 within the district.

In a statement released on Thursday the district says:

Out of an abundance of caution, Murray City School District will be closed until further notice beginning tomorrow, Friday, March 13. Parents are welcome to come pick up their students from school early today, but school buses will maintain their normal schedules.

For those who cannot come to pick up their children, staff will be on hand to ensure students are not left unattended. And we ask that those coming to pick up their student to be patient, mindful, and cautious of traffic and pedestrians as you are near the school.

This morning, we became aware of potential direct contact exposure to COVID-19 within the District. Those students and teachers surrounding this potential direct contact have not exhibited signs or symptoms associated with COVID-19. However because we are concerned about the health and safety of our students and staff, we are exercising an abundance of caution.

Due to privacy laws, we will not be sharing details about the contacts of concern. Because Murray is a close-knit community we feel it important to cancel all 10 schools within the District.

We are also canceling all extracurricular activities until further notice. This includes Utah High School Activities Association events.

These decisions were made after careful consultation with the State Superintendent, Murray City School District Board of Education, the State Health Department, and Salt Lake County Health Department, as well as our own staff.

As this is a rapidly evolving issue in our District and across the state, we are working through contingencies and plans to address potential dates we might reopen and our next steps. We will keep an open line of communication as more information is available.

We are also working on a plan to extend learning at home and feel good about the efforts we have made to this point to prepare for this scenario. We will further assess and address those plans very soon to ensure students are able to continue their academic progress.