A Princeton Unified Middle School staff member and a contractor doing work at the school have both tested positive for COVID-19 in what Princeton Public Schools administrators say are unrelated cases.
District administrators notified parents and staff members of the positive tests by email on Sept. 2.
The Princeton Health Department has been in touch with individuals who have had prolonged contact with the middle school staff member and with the contractor.
There is no known connection between the two cases, district administrators said. They said the transmission appeared to be isolated cases that did not originate in the middle school.
“From what I have been told by the Princeton Health Department, these were two isolated incidents,” Interim Superintendent of Schools Barry Galasso said.
“It is my understanding that our employee did not contract COVID-19 from the contractor. We will not have any school district personnel working in that building until Sept. 8 and we are doing everything that has been recommended by the health authorities,” Galasso said.
The middle school has been under construction and very few staff members have been in the building. No students have been in the building. The staff member who tested positive will continue to be monitored and has self-quarantined for 14 days, district administrators said.
Galasso said he did not expect any changes to the reopening schedule at the Princeton Unified Middle School as a result of the staff member’s positive test for COVID-19.
School district staff members have been training remotely in anticipation of the district’s virtual (remote) opening on Sept. 14.
UPDATE
Princeton Public Schools reported on Sept. 4 that an individual associated with the ongoing construction at Princeton Unified Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Princeton Department of Health has been in touch with PPS staff and others who may have had close contact with this individual, according to information provided by Sept. 4. Close contact is defined by the NJ Department of Health as being within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 10 minutes.
The individual, who is not a PPS employee, will be monitored and quarantined for at least 14 days, according to the statement.
The three positive cases are now believed to be related.
There have been very few staff members in the building this week and no students have been in the building, according to the statement. The middle school will be closed to all PPS staff and the public through Sept. 11. The district still hopes to reopen the middle school building on Sept. 14, as of Sept. 4.
Staff and parents were notified by email.
The three cases at the middle school are not anticipated to affect the other schools, according to the statement.