Prior to the opening of school
To mitigate the risk of infection and ensure that schools reopen safely, the district will offer voluntary testing opportunities in partnership with Onondaga County. This proactive testing will be available for all school staff at mobile testing sites throughout the county. These sites will be appointment-based. In addition to staff, high school students will also be given the opportunity to be tested.
Ongoing testing
Once schools are open, there will be a specific protocol in place for instances in which positive cases have been identified.
When a positive case has been identified, the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) will be in communication with the school to begin the contact tracing process. This is done to identify any individuals that may have been in close contact with the person infectious with COVID-19 so that contacts can be notified of their exposure and placed on quarantine as directed by the OCHD. In addition, any further testing and timing of the testing will be directed by the OCHD for these contacts. The positive case will be placed in isolation as directed by the OCHD.
Surveillance Testing
To further promote safety and prevent COVID-19 spread, it will be appropriate to perform random saliva-based surveillance testing during the school year. This method of surveillance testing is approved by the New York State Department of Health. Pools of approximately 12 staff and students will be tested using the saliva protocol. Should the pool reveal the presence of COVID-19, everyone in the pool will need to have a diagnostic test performed.