The City School District of Albany has been notified that two individuals in the district have tested positive for COVID-19.
We were notified Thursday that an individual at Giffen Memorial Elementary School has tested positive. This individual, associated with a fourth-grade classroom, is now quarantined at home, in alignment with Albany County Health Department guidance. An additional 17 individuals from the Giffen community have been identified as contacts and also are quarantined at home, following health department guidance.
We also were notified that a person at Albany High School has tested positive. The individual is quarantined at home. The health department has identified one additional contact and that individual also is quarantined at home, in alignment with health department guidance.
The health department has indicated that there are no other steps necessary for either school at this time.
Health and safety procedures at all district buildings include cleaning and sanitizing nightly. We will continue with these procedures, and also will continue to follow all required COVID-19 precautions (pre-arrival symptom screening and temperature screening for students and staff, wearing masks, hand hygiene, social distancing of 6 feet or more, and other precautions).
We also would like to remind everyone of steps you can take to help be safe:
- Maintain a social distance of at least 6 feet at all times from those you don’t live with.
- Always wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose when you are out of your home.
- 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.
- Complete the Student COVID-19 Screener each day before your child leaves for school, available from the Students/Families dropdown menu above.
- 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: