Brings bug to school

COVID-positive student infects 4 classmates

A Westchester County high school student, after apparently contracting coronavirus during a Florida getaway, infected at least four other people at a drive-in graduation ceremony last week, state health officials said Saturday.

The unidentified teen had recently visited the COVID-19 hot spot and returned to attend the event celebrating the Class of 2020 at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua. The attendee later began showing coronavirus symptoms and tested positive, followed by four more infections among classmates who had contact with the student during the June 20 event at the Chappaqua train station, said the state Department of Health.

Student Jay Maher, 18, said graduates were told to stay inside their cars and wear masks, but not everyone complied.

“A lot of seniors were out talking with each other,” he told the Daily News. “We didn’t think they were going to take the [car restriction] too seriously.”

Maher, who brought a “Greeley 2020” mask with him, added that some students ignored the instruction to wear a face covering. He spent most of his time at the school’s 89th graduation ceremony inside the car with his parents.

“I only jumped out of the car to get my son’s photo on the Jumbotron and I jumped back inside,” said the teen’s mother, Susan Maher. “Lots of people were not wearing masks or social distancing.”

There were similar complaints on local social media about a failure to follow

COVID-19 protocols p at the graduation.

“Let’s go back to the simple part,” wrote one person. “Social distancing and wear a mask ... It was disturbing to see kids and families out of cars.”

State health officials said all five people who tested positive were in self-isolation. The first infected student also attended another event on the same night, coming in contact with teens from other area school districts.

Anyone who attended the graduation or the second “Field Night” event for high school juniors and seniors was advised to remain quarantined through July 5. The state’s contact tracing program will contact those who were exposed to the student, advising them to get tested.

Florida continues to experience spikes in the number of cases, with a new record of 9,500 reported Saturday — a bump of more than 600 from the day before.

“As we are seeing in other states who reopened quickly, the pandemic is far from over and we need to stay vigilant,” said Gov. Cuomo (photo). “We’re prepared to do the aggressive testing and contact tracing required to slow and ultimately control any potential clusters of new cases like the one in Westchester County.”