Update on COVID Tests Provided by NYS DOH

Update on COVID Tests Provided by NYS DOH
Posted on 01/04/2022

As you may be aware, throughout the holiday recess, the NYS Department of Health, the governor and the state health commissioner have all released guidance memos that address potential new protocols related to school districts and COVID 19.  

 

Included within these messages was a statement that over 37 million rapid tests have been ordered by the state and that these tests will be delivered to each school district. 

 

We recently received roughly 500 test kits from New York State. NYS DOH guidance indicates that these tests can be used to support our upcoming Test To Stay (TTS)* program as well as for continued on-site screening of symptomatic students and employees.  

 

These test kits are also available for you, as parents and guardians, to use at home with your child(ren). Please be aware, that if you have no other positives in your household and administer a test at home and it comes back as a positive, Washington County DOH will require a second lab-confirmed test to be administered from a healthcare professional, a clinic, or through our school.  Additionally, a negative test result administered for a student with COVID-like symptoms will not allow that student to return to school.  Symptomatic students require a lab confirmed negative test in order to return.

 

If you would like a test kit to use at home for your child, please contact the main office 518-638-8243, ext 0 to arrange a time to pick up a test kit (one per child).  Tests will be available beginning Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

 

If your child is experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID and would like our school nurse to administer a test, please contact the District’s Health Office at 518-638-8243, ext 518.


*In the coming weeks, Argyle CSD will introduce our Test To Stay (TTS) program. Test To Stay allows students who have been identified as a contact of a positive student (either as a result from an in-school or district transportations) to continue attending school for the10 days they would be quarantined, as long as they meet specific criteria  - including having no symptoms and testing negative (at school) at least three times over a seven day period (with parent permission).   More information on the NYSDOH Test To Stay Guidelines is available here.  The district will send out additional information on our TTS program in the coming days.

 

As a continued reminder, students or staff displaying any COVID-like symptoms or who are not feeling well should follow the NYS DOH guidance for returning to school.

 

Please reach out by phone or email ([email protected]) with any questions concerning this information.