Another Somers School Building Closes Temporarily Due To COVID-19 Exposure
Somers Central School District officials announced another school building will shutdown temporarily after exposure to COVID-19.
In a Facebook post Monday night, the district stated Primrose Elementary School will move to eLearning starting Tuesday to undergo contact tracing after officials were informed of a positive case of COVID-19 within the facility. The school is expected to reopen for hybrid learning on Thursday, officials said.
Furthermore, high school students will also participate in eLearning on Tuesday due to staffing issues related to teachers in quarantine and other unrelated absences, the post states.
This comes just days after Somers High School was forced to close after exposure to the virus. Currently, district protocol calls for any building reporting cases of coronavirus to close for 48 hours for contract tracing, cleaning and disinfecting.
After the high school closed last Thursday, Superintendent of Schools Raymond Blanch said in a letter to the community that the district will work in tandem with the Westchester County Department of Health to identify any students who may have been exposed when a coronavirus case has been identified.
Those exposed must quarantine for 14 days from the last exposure date, Blanch stated, adding that COVID-19 tests should be administered five days after their last exposure. The district considers exposure as any student or faculty member who were within six-feet of the sick person for more than 10 minutes.
If a child or faculty member is identified as a close contact of the person who tested positive, they will receive a call from a contact tracer, Blanch said. Furthermore, the district will also send emails to families notifying them if their children have been identified as having contact with the individual who tested positive.
Health officials stress that quarantine measures should be honored if you suspect you or child may have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Symptoms of the virus include fever, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, or new loss of taste or smell. Other symptoms include, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
If you have any questions, contact your physician or the Westchester County Health Department at 866-588-0195. Testing information can be found at here.
