A judge has granted a petition filed by Chautauqua County’s public health director requiring a Maple Grove High School student to remain in quarantine after reportedly coming into contact with a district employee who tested positive for COVID-19.

State Supreme Court Judge Lynn W. Keane made the ruling following an order to show cause hearing Monday. The county filed the petition for a quarantine order pursuant to Article 21 of the public health law, stating that the student — who is not being named because he is under the age of 18 — came into contact with an employee at Maple Grove who had tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-October. The student, along with others identified through contact tracing, was asked to quarantine for two weeks.

By granting the petition, the student will be required to remain in quarantine through the end of the day today (Nov. 4). The challenge was the first of its kind in the county during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The student has been following the quarantine order, though according to his attorney, County Public Defender Ned Barone, the student questioned whether he did indeed come into contact with the sick employee on the date and location as outlined by the county Health Department.

“He was in full compliance,” Barone said. “He did take issue with the fact that he determined, or at least he felt, he was never in contact with the infected individual as the health department alleged.”

Public health law allows for a judge to review upon request orders dealing with quarantine and isolation.

“He wanted to exercise that right, to be heard before the court,” Barone said. “It’s about due process. He was alleged to have been in contact with someone with COVID-19. He understands that, and his family understands that, and that’s why he’s been in full compliance.”

He added: “The quarantine could have, of course, caused some harm to my client if it were to remain in place,” Barone said. “It’s a balance between public safety and doing the right thing. He never took issue with compliance; he just wanted the opportunity to be heard.”

Christine Schuyler, county public health director and named as the petitioner in the filing, confirmed Tuesday that to date no one has refused to comply with directions to quarantine or isolate during the pandemic.

According to court documents, a member of the county Health Department on Oct. 26 interviewed an employee of the Bemus Point Central School District. That employee tested positive for the coronavirus and gave the county a list of people they had come into contact with in the days prior to receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The employee named the high school student as “an individual with whom he had spent more than 10 minutes with a distance of less than 6 feet during the time in which he would have been infectious with COVID-19.”

The school’s principal confirmed to the county Health Department that the student had been to the gym on Oct. 21, the date and location where the exposure would have taken place.

According to the state’s COVID-19 report card that lists positive cases within schools, Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School reported one student on-site who tested positive in addition to two teachers, one on-site and one off-site. At Bemus Point Elementary School, two teachers have reportedly tested positive, both on-site.

Joseph Reyda, Bemus Point superintendent, said he could not speak directly on the student or the petition. However, he said say the district has been in “constant communication” with the county Department of Health.

“We’re just acting as safely as we possibly can,” Reyda said.