Valley Stream schools outline testing procedures as cases rise

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Superintendents from all four Valley Stream school districts issued a joint letter on Dec. 10 outlining mandatory Covid-19 testing procedures should New York state designate the neighborhood a “yellow zone” or worse under its coronavirus infection cluster initiative.

According to state guidelines, schools in geographic areas designated “yellow,” with seven-day coronavirus infection rates above 3 percent, must test 20 percent of the in-person school population, including staff and students, for at least two weeks for the coronavirus or otherwise switch to full remote instruction. If after two weeks the infection rate in the schools is revealed to be lower than in the rest of the neighborhood, testing is no longer required, according to state Department of Health guidelines.

Valley Stream school officials announced that the firm ATC Healthcare Testing and Screening would handle the testing process, using a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test requiring a nasal swab, should its services become necessary. Results from these tests would become available within 72 hours. The tests would be free for parents, with or without health insurance. Parents can also submit test results for their children from private health providers.

The announcement came as coronavirus cases continued to surge again in New York. In Nassau County, Covid-19 infection rates were around 5.8 percent as of Dec. 9, according to County Executive Laura Curran. In Valley Stream, 181 new cases were reported in the neighborhood from Dec. 8 to Dec. 14, according to Nassau County Department of Health figures.

Local schools have been grappling with the higher case numbers, with rolling building closures in the Central High School District. Most recently, school officials announced that Memorial Junior High School would be closed to in-person instruction until Friday after three confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the building. Memorial had been closed since Dec. 9. South High School also remains closed until Friday.