The Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) recently notified the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District that seven individuals within the school community have tested positive for COVID-19.
The individuals include five Fayetteville-Manlius High School students and one staff member, and one Eagle Hill Middle School staff member. As a result, five staff members and 53 students are in quarantine.
The individuals were last in school on the following dates:
- Tuesday, Nov. 10 (Cohort A student- F-M High School)
- Friday, Nov. 13 (Eagle Hill Middle School staff member)
- Tuesday, Nov. 17 (Cohort A student – F-M High School)
- Thursday, Nov. 19 (two F-M High School Cohort B students and F-M High School staff member)
- Friday, Nov. 20 (Cohort B student – F-M High School)
According to OCHD, the timeline of cases (including those reported during the week of Nov. 22) represents a limited microcluster of COVID-19 cases at F-M High School. However, because there is no evidence of virus transmission in school, OCHD does not recommend a temporary school closure.
All F-M schools will be open for in-person learning for cohort A students on Monday, Nov. 30.
Due to privacy laws, the district cannot provide any additional information about the individuals who tested positive. If you would like to be tested out of an abundance of caution, please visit the New York State COVID-19 web page to find a testing location near you or talk with your healthcare provider.
The staff member and students who tested positive, and any other individuals the county determines must quarantine, will not return to school until they meet the protocols set by the New York State Department of Health.
The district continues to thoroughly clean and disinfect all buildings on campus and its buses in accordance with guidance from the state Department of Health and the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Information about F-M’s health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 can be found in the district’s school reopening plan and on the plan’s FAQ web page.
Yellow Zone Testing Update
On November 23, Governor Andrew Cuomo identified zip codes 13104 and 13066 as part of Onondaga County’s COVID-19 yellow zone, which means that the Fayetteville-Manlius School District community has been identified as having a microcluster of COVID-19 cases.
All six of the district’s school district buildings—Enders Road Elementary School, Fayetteville Elementary School, Mott Road Elementary School, Eagle Hill Middle School, Wellwood Middle School and Fayetteville-Manlius High School —fall within this zone.
A yellow zone designation requires the following actions on the part of the school’s within the zone:
- To continue in-person instruction, the school must test 20% of its in-person students and staff members within a two-week period.
- Testing is voluntary, and only those students whose parents or guardians have pre-registered them for the test will be allowed to participate. Parents and guardians who pre-register their child will be presumed to have granted their consent for the test.
- If the school does not test 20% of its staff and in-person students, the school must shift to remote instruction for all students until the state removes the zone designation.
F-M School District leaders are working closely with OCHD to fulfill the testing requirement. At this time, testing at F-M schools is not part of OCHD’s initial schedule for Nov. 30-Dec. 4 which includes 27 schools within Central New York.
The district will update families once more testing information, including a testing schedule and registration, is available.