As expected, COVID-19 guidance for schools in New York State is changing. Late last week, the New York State Department of Health outlined changes that are taking place and released a document containing an FAQ as well.
This new guidance includes contact tracing, quarantine and isolation, and more. Specifically, the new guidance states that school districts are not “required to do contact tracing when students or staff test positive for, develop symptoms of, or are exposed to COVID-19.” The New York State Department of Health is halting their contact tracing programs. Therefore, parents/guardians will not receive phone calls from the DOH going forward.
That being said, the Hudson City School District will continue to identify close contacts of positive COVID-19 students and staff members. If you are notified by the school district that your child is a close contact, you should follow the guidance from the state DOH found here. The state also provided a quarantine and isolation chart, which can be viewed here. You will no longer receive quarantine and isolation affirmation or release forms. Individuals are expected to do these on their own, which can be found here: quarantine, isolation.