“Very different.”

Those are the two words that Superintendent of Schools Nancy Welch used to describe this week’s start of the 2020-2021 school year in Mathews County, a year that begins with mostly virtual instruction, except for K-8 students who are scheduled to have two in-person sessions apiece over the next two weeks, with the first group attending class Monday.Students in Group B had their first in-person classes on Wednesday. Mathews High School students began the school year with online classes.

Positive COVID-19 case

Welch said that an individual with the county’s elementary school tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. She declined to provide further details about whether the individual was a teacher, support staff or student.

She said that she spoke with Dr. Richard Williams, director of the Three Rivers Health District, to report the positive case. The division working on contact tracing and identifying those who have been around that individual, close for pe...