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Bayport elementary school staffer tests positive for coronavirus

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A staffer at Academy Street Elementary School in Bayport tested positive for novel coronavirus, Bayport-Blue Point School District Superintendent Timothy Hearney said Thursday in a letter.

It’s the district’s first confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19). It is unclear if the staffer is hospitalized.

“The staff member has not been in the building since early last week,” Hearney wrote. “The Department of Health Services is conducting an investigation and will notify anyone who they feel may have had contact with someone who has been exposed.”

Schools in the district have been closed this week — since Monday, first by order of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, and then by the governor.

“As stated in previous communications, the district began additional deep cleaning of each building weeks before the employee was feeling ill,” Hearney wrote. “I ask that you please respect confidentiality laws at this time.”

The most recent numbers released by County Executive Bellone indicated that there have been 239 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Suffolk, including 39 in the Town of Islip and 27 in the Town of Brookhaven.

Twenty-seven percent of the Suffolk resident stricken with coronavirus — or about 11 percent — are hospitalized. Three Suffolk residents have died from the virus.

Hearney reminded members of the district community to “use good hygiene, wash hands thoroughly and often, and stay away from group gatherings.”

The county’s drive-through testing site at Stony Brook University opened on Wednesday. Residents looking to make an appointment can call 1.888.364.3065 to make an appointment to be triaged by a nurse.

Here’s a copy of Hearney’s letter:

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