Chatham High School Goes Remote For Two Weeks

CHATHAM, NJ—Chatham High School will offer remote-only instruction for at least two weeks, after several positive Coronavirus tests the district said resulted from a non-school gathering around Labor Day.

School District of the Chathams Superintendent Michael LaSusa said all extracurricular activities, including sports, were canceled. LaSusa stressed that the district is continuing to focus on safety measures, as it has been since the start of school.

"The Department of Health officials indicated that they believe the mitigation strategies implemented in school," said LaSusa, "particularly the wearing of face coverings, make it unlikely that transmission took place within school this week."

Chatham High School initially switched to all-remote learning last week, after confirming its first positive case in a student who had attended school in person. The district and department of health began measures, including contact tracing, to identify anyone who was in the vicinity of the positive student.

But over the weekend, additional cases were confirmed, causing the extension of online instruction. LaSusa's statement added that the exact location of transmission is difficult to pinpoint.

"The Department of Health believes there was likely active transmission of the virus at a non-school event over the [Labor Day] weekend," LaSusa said, "though it is possible that there may have been other gatherings during or before the weekend where transmission could have occurred."

Chatham High School is scheduled to resume in-person instruction on September 29.