The following message is from City School District of Albany Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams:
The City School District of Albany was notified Monday afternoon that a member of the Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology community has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual has been out of school since Oct. 1 and was identified Oct. 5 as a close contact of another person who tested positive. The district notified the TOAST community at that time.
The individual from TOAST, a member of one of the school’s fourth-grade classrooms, will remain out of school until cleared to return in alignment with Albany County Health Department guidance. As a precautionary measure, all students and staff from the affected fourth-grade classroom also have been quarantined at home since Oct. 6 and will remain in a virtual instructional model until cleared to return in-person.
The affected classroom has been cleaned and sanitized, and no additional steps are recommended for TOAST at this time, in alignment with health department guidance. All other TOAST operations are continuing normally.
TOAST, and all buildings throughout the City School District of Albany, continue to follow all health and safety procedures on a daily basis, including cleaning and sanitizing as well as 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:
