East Brunswick School Admins To Quarantine After COVID Case

Sarah Salvadore
Updated ·2 min read

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — An entire department in the East Brunswick school district administration building will quarantine after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Superintendent Victor Valeski informed the school community on Thursday.

No information was provided on the department asked to quarantine.

This is the first positive case within the administration building. The case was reported to the district on Wednesday evening. The individual, along with the department will quarantine for 14 days.

“Because of our preplanning, the entire department can work remotely, and district operations will not be impacted,” said Valeski.

Meanwhile, a high school student is quarantining as a "close contact" to a positive COVID case outside of school.

The Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday revised their definition of a “close contact”.

Now, a “close contact” occurs if a person spends a total of 15 minutes within six feet of an infected person over the course of a 24-hour period, starting two days before the onset of illness.

This change was made after a study in Vermont outlined how a correctional officer contracted COVID after multiple brief exposures to COVID-positive individuals over the course of an eight-hour shift.

Valeski said the school district is applying the new CDC guidance standards across all schools.

“Beyond testing and wearing masks, rapid communication reinforces our defense against the spread of COVID within our school community,” Valeski said.

Meanwhile, the district is planning to combine hybrid learning groups in secondary schools, come Nov. 17.

Read More Here: East Brunswick Schools To Combine Hybrid Learning Groups

However, these plans will be put on hold if the school district reports an increase in positive COVID cases among the school population, and in case of any person-to -person transmission within the school communities, two weeks before Nov. 17.

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.


This article originally appeared on the East Brunswick Patch