The City School District of Albany was notified Thursday of 11 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the district. None of these cases is associated with the voluntary COVID-19 testing the district is conducting, and the Albany County Health Department identified additional contacts with only one of the new cases reported Thursday.
The one case with contacts is associated with Edmund J. O’Neal Middle School of Excellence. This individual was last in the building Jan. 11 and is now quarantined at home. The health department has identified three additional contacts; these individuals also are quarantined at home.
Two cases are associated with Delaware Community School. One of these individuals is associated with a fifth-grade classroom and was last in the building Dec. 23. The other individual has been engaged entirely in a distance learning model. Both individuals are quarantined at home.
Two cases are associated with William S. Hackett Middle School. One individual has been engaged entirely in a distance learning model and is quarantined at home. The second individual tested positive during the holiday break, but that confirmed case was not reported to the district until Thursday. This individual was quarantined at home during the illness and was cleared to return to school this week.
One case is associated with Albany High School. This individual has been engaged entirely in a distance learning model and is quarantined at home.
One case is associated with a prekindergarten classroom at Albany School of Humanities (ASH). This individual was last in the building Dec. 23 and is now quarantined at home.
One case is associated with Arbor Hill Elementary School. This individual was last in the building Dec. 23 and is now quarantined at home.
One case is associated with a third-grade classroom at Giffen Memorial Elementary School. This individual was last in the building Dec. 23 and is now quarantined at home.
One case is associated with a first-grade classroom at Montessori Magnet School. This individual was last in the building Dec. 23 and is now quarantined at home.
Thursday’s final case is associated with a fifth-grade classroom at New Scotland Elementary School. This individual was last in the building Dec. 23 and is now quarantined at home.
All potentially impacted individuals have been contacted at all buildings; the health department has indicated that there are no other steps necessary for any of the buildings at this time.
Health and safety procedures at all district buildings continue to 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 daily via the email address on file for parents and guardians. More information is 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:
