Liberty Corner School To Reopen After False Positive COVID Test

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP, NJ — Liberty Corner School will reopen Wednesday. Bernards Township School District officials previously believed transmission occurred between a teacher and student in the same homeroom. But the teacher's coronavirus test was a false positive.

The teacher tested negative twice since the positive result, according to officials. School officials and the Bernards Township Health Department believe Liberty Corner School can safely reopen.

Because of the short notice of Monday's announcement, Liberty Corner School will reopen Wednesday. Officials will make separate communications to families whose children were errantly deemed a close contact because of the false-positive test.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this case caused and we look forward to reopening Liberty Corner School on Wednesday, December 2," said the letter from Superintendent Nick Markarian, Nursing Coordinator Rita Zarabara and Principal Dr. James Oliver.

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Before knowing about the false positive, officials announced that two people in the same A/B homeroom classroom tested positive for COVID-19. The district planned to keep Liberty Corner School remote until next Monday.

The Somerset County Health Department has reported 515 cases and 42 coronavirus deaths in Bernards Township since the pandemic began.

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