Riverhead H.S. student tests positive for COVID; Aquebogue staff member shows symptoms

A Riverhead High School student tested positive for COVID-19 and will begin quarantining per Suffolk County Department of Health guidelines, the district interim superintendent, Christine Tona, said Tuesday.

An instructional staff member at Aquebogue Elementary School has also shown symptoms of COVID-19, Ms. Tona said in a letter posted on the district website.

The district received notification Tuesday from the county health department of the positive test for the student. That student will not return to school until the district receives clearance from the health department. The health department will also notify those who are identified as being in close contact and issue quarantine orders if necessary, Ms. Tona said.

The district is awaiting further direction from the health department as to the Aquebogue staff member. The school principal and staff have notified families of students and faculty who were in contact with the staff member. If the health department determines those students are not required to quarantine, the district will contact the families and allow the students to return to school, Ms. Tona said.

The latest numbers on the School Covid Report card show at total of six lab reported positives based on residential addresses in the district. It lists two students as testing positive and one teacher/staff. That data is reported as of Oct. 5. The district previously said a Middle School staff member tested positive.

The health department on Tuesday reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 in Suffolk County for the prior 24 hours. A total of 1% of people who were tested in that time were positive in the county. The positive rate for Long Island was 1.1%. The total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began for Suffolk now stands at 46,980, while another 271,031 have tested positive for antibodies.