Dear MPH Community,
Today was our third opportunity of the 2020-2021 school year to conduct school-wide testing for COVID-19. And, once again, this community rallied to participate fully. We are pleased and grateful to report that we were able to test 95 percent of our students and employees, providing us with a solid baseline understanding of the health of our community before we return to classes on campus next Monday, March 1.
Only one of our students tested positive for COVID-19, and this student is now in isolation per Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) guidelines. This student was tested today immediately upon their arrival and departed campus within three minutes. They have had no contact with anyone else from MPH over the last two weeks, and thus, we do not anticipate the need for contact tracing within our MPH community. The OCHD will be in touch with the student to ensure contact tracing is conducted per county protocols.
For reasons of privacy protection, OCHD and MPH will not share the names of individuals who test positive for COVID-19. Within our close-knit community, however, it may become apparent which individual has tested positive. We strongly encourage all members of our community to honor our Core Values of respect and kindness by safeguarding the privacy of fellow community members. Please do not speculate or share, via social media or in conversation, information that you may learn about the individual who tested positive. We thank our students, families, and colleagues for the respect and courtesy you extend to each and every member of our community.
We look forward to resuming on-campus classes on Monday, March 1. Note: Before Monday, please review with your family the Pandemic Response Phase 2 Updates FAQs to help safeguard our individual and collective health and well-being.
Sincerely,
The Pandemic Response Team
