Universal statewide COVID-19 contact tracing, case investigation ends

The Salmon River Central School District has been informed that the New York State Virtual Call Center will no longer be operational as of April 29, 2022.

This means that the general public in our community will no longer be given a follow-up phone call or text message if an individual tests positive for COVID-19. Officials with the Franklin County Public Health Department said despite this change at the state level, they expect to continue monitoring positive cases and contact tracing for at-risk populations and congregate care settings. Additionally, officials said they plan to continue close communication with local school districts.

Our school district will continue with the following guidelines:

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 must stay home and isolate for 5 days

Parents can fill out the Affirmation of Isolation form and provide it to the school as proof of the positive test. When parents turn in a filled-out affirmation, it will count as a legal excuse from school. As a reminder, our county public health departments are no longer issuing isolation and quarantine orders.

Anyone who has symptoms needs to stay home

We all need to be incredibly diligent about self-monitoring and monitoring our families. Whether you are a staff member or a student, be sure that any individual who is sick DOES NOT come to school. Any student who is found to be showing symptoms of COVID-19 while at school will be sent home immediately and be required to take a COVID-19 test.

We will notify parents if their child has an exposure

We will continue the practice of notifying parents of potential exposures. In this case, parents can choose whether to keep their child out of school. If parents are not sure whether to exclude their child from school, they may contact their child’s school nurse.

Parents who choose to continue sending their child to school are encouraged to monitor their child closely for symptoms and test them after the exposure.
If parents decide they want their child to quarantine, they can fill out the Affirmation of Quarantine form. The same process can be used if a child has an exposure outside of school.

Our staff is not doing contact tracing, but will continue to work to identify any exposure that carries a high risk, like lunchtime or sports. We may require close contacts in those situations to be excluded from school.

We will continue to encourage vaccines

The COVID-19 vaccine is our best defense against the virus. All staff and students who are eligible are encouraged to get vaccinated and boosted as quickly as possible. Learn more about eligibility for vaccination. Learn more about where to get vaccinated.

Find out more about what steps to take if you test positive for COVID-19 on the Franklin County Public Health Department’s website.