SAN DIEGO – Cathedral Catholic High School is postponing its first day of school due to COVID-19.

The first day of fall semester was supposed to start Monday, but now will be delayed for likely up to a week, school President Kevin Calkins said. The delay will allow for contact tracing after an attendee of an off-campus retreat held earlier this week later tested positive for COVID-19.

“Because we were all together, there were a lot of close contacts to a person who tested positive, a vaccinated person actually who tested positive for COVID,” Calkins said.

According to Calkins, school orientation at Cathedral Catholic is delayed until next week. Athletic events are expected to continue as normal with the exception of a now-postponed parent athletic meeting that was planned for Thursday. Locker rooms and training facilities also are closed.

While an official date for the first day of classes hasn’t been set, Calkins said it’s likely to start late next week or Aug. 23. The goal this year is for full-time, in-person learning for the duration of the school year.

“That’s our commitment and we think we can do it,” he said. “We just have this temporary hiccup that we have to deal with.”

Parents with students attending the private school received a letter from the school Wednesday announcing the delay due to a “COVID-19 related situation that has affected multiple stakeholders on campus.”

Some parents told FOX 5 they’re frustrated and confused by the decision. But parent Chris Smith said he’s glad the school is playing it safe. 

“Yeah, it’s a lot of money to go to Cathedral,” Smith said. “It does hurt a little bit to know how much you’re investing financially and then you hear that they’re not going to be in-person learning, but I know the educators and the staff there put the safety of the parents, the kids, the students, the faculty, they put it first and so I do support the decision.

“It may not be popular with everyone, which I do understand, but I think in my opinion its better to be safe than sorry.”