More Than 800 Kids Vaccinated As Bridgewater Schools Prepare For COVID Omicron Variant

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District is preparing for the inevitability of the new coronavirus Omicron variant hitting the area by helping students get vaccinated.

"The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District will continue to implement the same strategies that we have employed since September 2021. We will continue to monitor case levels within the district and state-wide but remain committed to keeping schools open for full-day instruction," said Superintendent Robert Beers.

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Recently, the district hosted three vaccination clinics for Bridgewater residents where more than 800 young people aged 5 to 11 received their first dose, said Beers.

"We are hopeful that our mitigation strategies coupled with the high vaccination rate throughout Bridgewater Raritan will provide the safety our students and faculty need to attend school safely for the remainder of the school year," said Beers.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus that emerged last week has already resulted in a new travel ban in New Jersey that took effect Monday. Gov. Phil Murphy said he is concerned about flights from South Africa, which is one of the countries covered by the ban put in place by President Joe Biden over the weekend. Read More: COVID Omicron Variant Prompts NJ Travel, Masking Changes

Murphy added that he strongly recommends wearing masks indoors and outside when social distancing cannot be maintained, and to take family gatherings outside if the weather allows for it.

Locally, the Bridgewater-Raritan school district has reported 21 new COVID cases since Thanksgiving and a total of 171 cases since Sept. 1.

Here is a breakdown of the cases since Sept. 1 in Bridgewater-Raritan schools:

• Adamsville - 15
• Bradley Gardens - 5
• Crim - 16
• Hamilton - 17
• Kennedy - 9
• Milltown - 11
• Van Holten - 9
• Hillside - 22
• Eisenhower - 9
• Middle School - 17
• High School - 39
• District Support Staff - 2

Last week, the New Jersey Department of Health released new data on its COVID-19 dashboard giving more insight into school districts across the state including schools in Somerset County. Read More: COVID In Somerset County Schools: What New NJ Data Reveals

Compared to the rest of New Jersey, Somerset County schools has the highest amount of staff that are fully vaccinated with 90.5 percent, according to the dashboard.

The dashboard now shows significantly more school data at the county level but still doesn't display any school numbers at the individual, district or municipal levels.

Somerset County's data includes 60 reporting schools, including private K-12 institutions. Numbers will get updated weekly.

The state reported 2.22 new cases per 1,000 individuals in Somerset County schools — the eighth-highest mark in New Jersey. The state average stood at 2.05 new cases per 1,000, while Sussex County reported the highest prevalence of infections with 4.04 per 1,000 people in its schools.
Somerset County schools had 76 new cases — the eighth-lowest figure reported in the state. The health department also tallied 11 new cases among staff — the state's fifth-lowest reported total.

Schools in Somerset County have reported 438 cases since the school year began, which ranks 16th among New Jersey's 21 counties. The county's 97 cumulative staff cases are the fifth-fewest in the state.

Statewide, 1.4 percent of students have missed time at school for COVID-19 reasons, including those with the virus who were isolating and unvaccinated students who needed to quarantine. In Somerset County that figure only stands at 1.1 percent — the 8th-lowest in the state. Hudson County had the lowest at 0.7 percent.

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