Coronavirus Cases Rise To 6 In Bridgewater Schools

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A person on a Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District bus tested positive for the coronavirus, school officials said Saturday.

This case brings the district to a total of six positive COVID-19 cases all reported in the last week.

The district was notified of the most recent positive coronavirus case on Friday, said Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Ficarra in a letter sent to parents and staff members on Saturday morning.

"Based upon our consultation with the local health department, all individuals required to quarantine have already been contacted. To be clear, at this time, if you have not been contacted by the school, your child was not impacted by this," Ficarra said.

The district is working with local and state health officials on every positive coronavirus case.

In total, the district has fourth cases at Bridgewater-Raritan High School and one case at Hillside Intermediate School. Read More: 4th Coronavirus Case Reported At Bridgewater-Raritan High School

All of these cases come just about two weeks after the Bridgewater school district reopened for in-person learning on Oct. 12. It marked the first time in more than six months that students have been inside a classroom. Read More: Bridgewater-Rartian Schools Begin In-Person Hybrid Learning

The district announced late Thursday night that the high school switched to an all-virtual learning program, effective Friday, for the next 2 weeks. Read More: Bridgewater High School Goes Virtual After 3rd Coronavirus Case

In addition, all athletic and extracurricular activities are canceled for the next two weeks. All other district schools will remain open as normal on Friday, Oct. 23.

Ficarra asked parents and students to continue following the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) promoted safeguards, such as:

• Staying home when you are sick;
• Washing hands often with soap for at least 20 seconds;
• Covering coughs and sneezes and properly disposing of tissues;
• Limiting close contact with people who are sick and not sharing food, drinks and utensils;
• Practicing social distancing (staying at least 6 feet apart);
• Wearing a face covering while in school; and
• Continuing to monitor your health for symptoms.

As of Friday, Bridgewater had 6 new positive coronavirus cases on Thursday and 0 new cases Friday bringing its total to 596 cases and 67 deaths. The lastest coronavirus-related death in the township was reported on Oct. 4.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

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