Education

Bridgewater School Officials Blame Delta Variant as Entire 4th Grade Class Quarantines

“It is concerning. I think it points to the level of spread of the new delta variant and how contagious that may be," Bridgewater-Raynham Assistant Superintendent Ryan Powers said. "We are seeing older students at the high school testing positive. They’re vaxxed.”

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An entire fourth grade class is in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus in Bridgewater, and school administrators say the highly contagious delta variant is to blame.

The 13 students and two employees at Williams Intermediate School are among 1,420 students and staff who tested positive for COVID-19 across Massachusetts between Sept. 13 and Sept. 15. They will be allowed to return to class Thursday, contingent on a negative PCR test.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the number of COVID cases in schools Thursday in its weekly report, the first of the 2021-22 school year. A total of 1,230 students and 190 employees with district building access within seven days of the report tested positive.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Powers of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District said the virus is spreading more rapidly and they’re already starting to see some breakthrough cases.

“Having three students three days in a row in a classroom — that was new for us. We haven’t experienced that," Powers said. “It is concerning. I think it points to the level of spread of the new delta variant and how contagious that may be. We are seeing older students at the high school testing positive. They’re vaxxed.”

The outbreak occurred in the same elementary school classroom, despite a number of safety measures in place, Powers said.

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