The school building at WJPS was back open briefly after it was closed for 24 hours due to two members of the school community testing positive for COVID-19. Now, the New York City Department of Education has announced all schools will be closed starting Thursday, November 19th until further notice due to rising positive rates across the city.

Dr. Werner, the principal of WJPS, announced the information in a series of emails to the school community. 

In the first email, she stated that no students or staff were allowed to enter the school building on November 17th, 2020. 

An email to the school community sent the next evening stated, “The NYC Test Trace Corps and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have completed a thorough investigation, and determined that the building is clear to reopen for regularly scheduled activities as of Wednesday, November 18, 2020.”

Now, the NYCDOE announced on its Twitter page…IMPORTANT UPDATE: starting tomorrow, all NYC school buildings are CLOSED for in-person learning until further notice. All students who were learning in school buildings part of the week will transition to remote learning every day.

The protocol for dealing with multiple positive tests is defined by the New York City Department of Education on its website in the section “Health and Safety.”

www.schools.nyc.gov/school-year-20-21/return-to-school-2020/health-and-safety

According to Dr. Werner, here is how the DOE policy for a specific school/building is carried out. 

Q: When a case is reported at the school what are the first actions you take to ensure the safety of the students?

A: “The DOE has created a ‘situation room.’ They are called whenever there is a potential case or a positive case. Very quickly after the call is made, the situation room sends out a “potential case” letter that is sent to the school community. If the case is a confirmed positive, another letter is sent out. Then close contacts with the individual are notified and told to quarantine. In some cases, the classroom is shut down. In other cases, if there are two or more cases in a school, the building is closed anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks. Quick communication is the best way to keep everyone safe.”

Q: Would the affected individual have to take the COVID test before entering back onto school grounds?

A: “Before coming back to school, a person who tested positive for COVID must isolate for 10 days and be fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication and the overall symptoms are improving.”

Q: What happens if an individual shows symptoms of COVID during school?

A: “The student is sent to the nurse who takes the student’s temperature and the student goes into the isolation room and gets picked up by a parent or guardian. The family is strongly encouraged to get a COVID test. If the student showed symptoms, but received a negative test, the student can return to school only after being fever free 24 hours without the use of medication and overall symptoms are improving. If the student did not receive a COVID-19 test but showed symptoms, you or your child can return to school only after at least 10 days have passed since symptoms started, being fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication and overall symptoms are improving. The classrooms are cleaned and disinfected daily.”

Photo credit: coronavirus white low poly by Philippe Put is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0