ELKINS — A “multi-agency investigation” into the reported illnesses of students at Elkins Middle School is underway, and the school will remain “closed until further notice,” according to a county agency.

At about 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management posted the following to social media:

“Randolph County Emergency Management is leading a multi-agency investigation into patients with elevated carbon monoxide levels at a local hospital in the Elkins area.

“Preliminary results from air quality testing at Elkins Middle School have shown no elevated levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Additional environmental and health analyses and monitoring are ongoing.

“Randolph County Emergency Management is receiving active assistance from the West Virginia Department of Health (WV DH), West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP), West Virginia Center for Threat Preparedness, local health departments and surrounding hospitals.

“These agencies are coordinating resources through an incident command structure led by Randolph County Emergency Management to ensure a comprehensive response.

“The EPA Emergency Response Team arrived on Thursday and has deployed lab-grade equipment to assess potential exposure sources. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WV BPH) and the Center for Threat Preparedness are evaluating factors contributing to the reported symptoms. The WV BPH is conducting syndromic surveillance — or the collection of health-related data — in collaboration with local health departments and hospitals.

“Residents are advised to report any unusual symptoms to their healthcare providers. As a precaution, Elkins Middle School is closed until further notice.”

On Tuesday, all county schools will be closed for Election Day. 

This week, Randolph County made the decision to break the tradition of using Elkins Middle School as a polling place on Tuesday, due to ongoing air quality concerns at the school.

Precincts 27 and 28, which normally vote at EMS, will instead cast ballots at the Phil Gainer Community Center Tuesday.

Dr. Shawn Dilly, the Randolph County superintendent of schools, released documentation Wednesday showing that six separate inspections of the school have taken place since Thursday, Oct. 24, the day that some students first began suffering symptoms and were treated at Davis Medical Center.

The school was closed down on Friday, Oct. 25 in response to the situation. The first inspections took place that day, and found nothing that would cause illness, Dilly said.

Elkins Middle School reopened for classes Monday, but once again students reported becoming sick and being treated at the hospital.

Dilly then said the school would shift to remote learning for the rest of this week, while further testing was conducted. Elkins Fire Chief Steve Himes told The Inter-Mountain Monday that his department had been at the school five different times at that point and had found nothing that would explain the illnesses.

The West Virginia Army National Guard’s 35th Civil Support Team came to inspect the school Tuesday. The team’s commander, Ryan Schwartz, wrote that they found “no elevated readings” or anything else that would indicate why students would become ill.

On Friday morning, a Randolph County Schools social media post stated that Elkins Middle School will remain on remote learning Monday.