New York State Department of Health Releases Official COVID-19 Guidance for Schools

The New York State Department of Health has released a series of new guidance and requirements Thursday evening for schools as they reopen to schoolchildren.

The new guidance includes the following:

• Unvaccinated teachers and school staff members will be required to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing.
• Everyone inside a school building must wear a mask at all times, regardless of vaccination status, except when eating, drinking, singing, or playing an instrument.
• Unmasked individuals must be at least 6 feet apart.
• Distance requirements should not preclude students from participating in in-person learning.
• A distance of at least 3 feet is strongly recommended between all students.
• A distance of at least 6 feet is recommended between unvaccinated individuals.
• Passengers and drivers must wear masks on school buses.
• All “close contacts” with someone with COVID must quarantine unless they are fully vaccinated.
• Vaccinated individuals who come in “close contact” with someone with COVID do not need to quarantine unless they present symptoms. They should be tested 3-5 days after exposure and must wear a mask indoors for 14 days or until they receive a negative diagnostic test result.