Superintendent: Middletown Student Tests Negative For Coronavirus

MIDDLETOWN, RI — Middletown Superintendent of Schools Rosemarie Kraeger was able to share some good news with the school community Thursday night when she announced that at the Gaudet Middle School student who had been in self-quarantine due to coronavirus concerns had tested negative for COVID-19.

"We will continue to take all safety and health measures seriously," Kraeger said. "We ask that you continue to use precautions."

A large number of absences at Gaudet School Thursday will be recorded as "excused absences" after Middletown Schools informed parents and staff that the student was in self-quarantine. Kraeger told the school community Wednesday night that the student had not been feeling well since returning from a family trip to South America.

Kraeger said Thursday morning that the school was still waiting to hear back from the Rhode Island Department of Health on test results and that the student does not have siblings in the Middletown School System. She said Middletown Schools were following their cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing protocols, with the bus company following the same procedure.

Kraeger said Middletown Schools will continue to take all precautions and is asking students and staff to remain home if they are feeling ill.

(More on the coronavirus can be found in this fact sheet from the CDC.)

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndromes (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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