DELMAR — Bethlehem Central reported its ninth COVID case this morning, Tuesday, Nov. 3, as its high school remains closed for the last of its two-week closure.
The County Department of Health notified the district that another member of its high school community tested positive for the virus early this morning. Uncharacteristic to past press releases, the district identified the person as a student.
According to a district statement, the latest case is a student who has remotely learned since the start of the school year and has not been in the school building.
Each of the district’s nine cases has come from its high school. Superintendent Jody Monroe ordered high school students to do remote learning since Monday, Oct. 26 after an alleged social gathering outside of the school triggered an uptick in cases and prompted the quarantine of more than 70 students and staff.
Bethlehem Central’s statement comes on the same day as County Executive Daniel McCoy’s announcement of 29 new COVID cases in the Albany area. Albany County now has 175 active COVID cases.
Currently, there are 1,363 county residents under mandatory quarantine. The five-day average for new daily positive cases continues to increase. Today, the average increased from 28.4 to 30.4.
At Bethlehem Central, there have been no confirmed cases in any schools outside of the high school. All schools, except the high school, remain open for in-person instruction. The high school is scheduled to resume in-person instruction on Monday, Nov. 9.
