Dear Families,
As we start looking toward slowly re-starting our lives in the near future, there are signs of progress as well as signs that any semblance of normalcy is still many months away. So many feelings accompany the changes ahead, but my hope is that we all continue to make choices based on the health and safety of not only ourselves and our loved ones but of our larger community as well.
Ne
w York State has implemented a phased re-opening process that is dependent on meeting local health access benchmarks. As of today, the Capital District Region (which Columbia County is a part of) is not yet eligible for Phase 1 reopening however, there are
strong indications that we will be eligible for Phase 1
very soon. If you would like to monitor our local progress and learn more about the metrics involved in this process, you can do so at the
Regional Monitoring Dashboard
(updated every 24 hours).
Once we receive a 7/7 score, we will be able to begin Phase 1 reopening. More information on what is included in the phases can be found
here
. Each phase must be successfully maintained (meaning that our metric score doesn’t drop from 7/7) for 2 weeks before moving to the next phase. If our score drops then we will return to the previous phase until stabilized.
School reopening is in the 4
th
and final phase. We are monitoring this progress closely. Expect to hear from us throughout the coming months as we re-envision how to provide the highest quality, innovative, and safest learning opportunities for your children next school year.
A few resources and points of information I’d like to share with you:
- New York’s diagnostic testing criteria has been expanded further. Testing is now available to:
- Any individual with Covid-19 symptoms
- Any individual who has had contact with a person known to be positive with Covid-19
- Any individual who is subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine
- Any individual who is employed as a health care worker, nursing home worker or first responder
- Any essential worker who directly interacts with the public while working
- Any individual who would return to the workplace in Phase 1 of the state’s reopening
- There is now a website where you can enter your address to view a list of the nearest testing sites. Additionally, Columbia County is offering 3 more mobile testing clinics for diagnostic testing. Diagnostic testing (also referred to as viral) is most useful in detecting the virus in an actively sick person. For more information, please visit the Columbia County Department of Health. The dates for the clinics are as follows:
- May 27th– walk-up clinic on the sidewalk in front of John L. Edwards, 360 State St. Hudson
- June 2nd– walk-up clinic on the sidewalk in front of John L. Edwards, 360 State St. Hudson
- June 7th– drive-through clinic at the Chatham Fairgrounds, 182 Hudson Ave. Chatham
- As we explore moving about in the world more freely in the coming months, remember there are a number of simple measures we can take to help prevent sickness for ourselves and others. These include:
- Getting adequate sleep and sunlight
- Walking or exercising daily
- Wearing a mask or face covering when in public
- Reducing sugar and alcohol consumption
- Washing hands frequently and practicing good hygiene with coughing, sneezing, and blowing noses
- Erring on the side of caution and staying home when experiencing signs of sickness
As always, please continue to keep me informed of your family’s health status. Monitoring the spread of Covid-19 in our community has been an important part of our collective safety.
Take good care,
Kara Desiderio
School Nurse
