After a Red Bank Regional High School student tested positive for COVID-19 this week, the Little Silver school’s weight room was closed for additional cleaning, an official told players and parents Thursday.
The district learned earlier in the day that a student who attended the 2 p.m. weight-training session Tuesday has tested positive for the virus, head athletic trainer and assistant athletic director Christina Emrich told players and parents via email obtained by redbankgreen.
“We conducted our contact tracing protocols and identified close contacts,” Emrich wrote. “As a result, the weight room will be closed to perform additional cleaning for the remainder of today.”
The room will reopen Friday, she wrote.
There was no immediate indication if the infected student had the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which has been driving new infections in New Jersey and elsewhere in recent weeks.
State officials said Monday that the variant accounted for 41 percent of COVID-19 cases last month, compared to 30 percent attributed to the Alpha version most often associated with the pandemic.
The Delta variant is considered more infectious, though it has not led to mass illness and hospitalizations like the Alpha variant.
Scientists say the three vaccines in use against COVID-19 are highly effective against the Delta and other variants in preventing illnesses that require hospitalization or lead to deaths.
RBR serves students from Little Silver, Red Bank and Shrewsbury Borough. According to data reported by Monmouth County government Wednesday, Little Silver has had three new cases of COVID-19 since July 8, after a month with none; Red Bank has posted four in the past month; and Shrewsbury has had four since July 1.
