The City School District of Albany was notified Monday of three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the district.
One case involves a member of the Pine Hills Elementary School community. This individual, associated with a fourth-grade classroom, was last in the building Dec. 4 and is now quarantined at home. The Albany County Health Department has identified 10 additional contacts; these individuals also are quarantined at home.
A second case involves a member of the North Albany Middle School community. This individual, associated with a sixth-grade classroom, was last in the building Dec. 9 and is now quarantined at home. The health department has identified 15 additional contacts; these individuals also are quarantined at home.
Monday’s third case involves a member of the William S. Hackett Middle School community. This individual, associated with a sixth-grade classroom, was last in the building Dec. 9 and is now quarantined at home. The health department has identified 18 additional contacts; these individuals also are quarantined at home.
As a result of the impact of these two cases on faculty and staff at Hackett and North Albany, all in-person general education sixth-grade students will shift to a virtual instructional model, effective immediately. The in-person option will remain available for the self-contained special education students at both schools. Hackett and North Albany will reinstate the in-person instructional option for sixth grade on Monday, Jan. 4 following the holiday break.
All potentially impacted individuals have been contacted at each building; the health department has indicated that there are no other steps necessary for either building 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 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:
