LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) — Nate Perry and Donlin Drive Elementary schools in Liverpool will return to in person learning today. The two schools were originally supposed to return to in person learning on Tuesday. The Onondaga Health Department, however, needed to complete its contact tracing from the known COVID-19 cases in the district.
On Saturday, one staff member tested positive, a teacher that travels to both schools, Superintendent Mark Potter said. The teacher contracted the virus at an event unrelated to the school district, Potter confirmed. Sunday in to Monday, there were four more additional cases found within the school district, bringing the total to five, he said.
Potter said that there were three teachers, one student, and one staff member in total that currently have the virus. Superintendent Mark Potter continued to reiterate that all of these cases were from events unrelated to the district, so exposure was minimal.
Within the entire district, 26 people have been traced back to being exposed to the original person with the virus.
Out of Liverpool’s 14 school’s in the district, four have had to pause in person learning due to a COVID-19 case. Liverpool Annex High School had to pause in person learning last Thursday, while Long Branch Elementary school had to pause in person learning earlier last week as well. Annex High School returned to in person learning the following Monday once cases were negative. Meanwhile, Long Branch Elementary had to delay in person learning for an entire week.
Potter has said that the district is taking a proactive approach to fighting the virus.
“We are making sure that our teachers and every student remains socially distant within the classroom so there is not any long-term exposure,” said Potter.
Temperature checks have been taken very frequently by the teachers and the students, according to Potter.
“Parents are asked to check their child’s temperature before leaving for school. Temperatures are taken again on the bus to school and when the students enter the building. The same goes for faculty and staff, we ask them to take their temperature before they arrive to school and it is taken again once they enter the building,” he said.
Potter said that he doesn’t think the district needs additional precautions. Since all five cases so far were contracted from events outside of school or from family contact, Potter is confident that the precautions put in place have been working. These precautions have also prevented limited exposure within the school buildings, according to Potter.
Potter said that the precautions that have been taken by the school district are similar to those throughout the Onondaga County.
“I have been in constant contact with the Onondaga Health Department and superintendents of other schools to make sure the precautions being taken are related to the precautions taken in other schools. If we all have the same safety plan, then hopefully we can all keep Onondaga County safe,” he adds.
In order to avoid getting sick, staff members, students, and teachers are encouraged to wash their hands as frequently as possible.
Cohort-A, which consists of students with last names from A-K, returned to in person learning today. Cohort-B, consisting of students with the last names from L-Z, will return to in person learning tomorrow.
