The City School District of Albany was notified Thursday of eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The individuals and their unvaccinated contacts are quarantining at home.
The first two cases involve Albany High School. One individual was last in school on Dec. 1. The other individual is associated with 12th grade and was last in school Nov. 16. The Albany County Health Department identified no additional contacts with either case.
The third, fourth and fifth cases involve Pine Hills Elementary School:
- One individual is associated with kindergarten and was last in school Nov. 30. The health department identified 35 additional contacts with the case; of those, three are vaccinated and do not require quarantine.
- One individual also is associated with kindergarten and was last in school Nov. 23. The health department identified no additional contacts with the case.
- One individual is associated with fifth grade and was last in school Nov. 23. The health department identified no additional contacts with the case.
The sixth and seventh cases involve New Scotland Elementary School. Both individuals were last in school on Nov. 23. One is associated with fifth grade and the other is associated with first grade. The health department identified no additional contacts with either case.
Thursday’s eighth and final case involves William S. Hackett Middle School. The individual was last in school Nov. 30. The health department identified three additional contacts with the case; all are vaccinated and do not require quarantine.
Health and safety procedures at all district buildings continue to include cleaning and sanitizing. We will continue with these procedures, and also will continue to follow all required COVID-19 precautions (wearing masks inside all district buildings, hand hygiene, social distancing of 3 feet or more in all classrooms, and other precautions).
We also would like to remind everyone of steps you can take to help be safe:
- Maintain social distance at all times from those you don’t live with.
- Always wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose when inside at school or when your student is riding a bus to or from school.
- Wash hands with soap and water frequently when out of your home. If you cannot use soap and water, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Don’t touch the eyes, nose or mouth unless your hands are clean.
- DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL WHEN THEY ARE SICK OR HAVE SYMPTOMS:
- Signs of COVID-19 are: fever, fatigue/tiredness, muscle/body aches or pains, congestion, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, nausea/vomiting or diarrhea, headache, loss of taste or smell, rash, feeling sick or unwell in any way.
- You can get a COVID-19 test by calling the New York State Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline at (888) 364-3065, or Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center at (518) 407-0172 or (518) 465-4771.
- You also can find resources here:
- In alignment with the recommendations of federal, state and local health and medical professionals, the City School District of Albany strongly encourages everyone 5 and older who is eligible and able to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
- You can find information about COVID-19 vaccinations on the Albany County Health Department website:
