Covid-19: Staff Member At Long Island High School Tests Positive

The Farmingdale School District said it was notified late in the afternoon Thursday, Sept. 10 of the confirmed case. 

The staff member was not present in the school building on Tuesday, Sept. 8, Wednesday, Sept. 9, or Thursday, Sept. 10, after experiencing flu-like symptoms over the three-day weekend, Superintendent of Schools Paul Defendini said.

"The staff member was never in direct contact with any students in the building at any time," Defendini added.

As a result, the high school was open on Friday, Sept. 11.

After self-quarantining per Nassau County Department of Health guidelines, the department will provide a letter to the staff member, which will be shared with the district, clearing the employee to return to work when it is safe to do so, said Defendini.

Farmingdale High School nurses, who are certified contact tracers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Training, initiated contact tracing protocols in consultation with the Nassau County Department of Health for accuracy and expediency. 

Defendini said two employees were identified as having close contact with the staff member who tested positive. They have both been individually notified and will be required to test for COVID-19 and self-quarantine for 14 days.

The Farmingdale High School custodial implemented additional rounds of deep cleaning and sanitization at Farmingdale High School in the rooms where all three staff members were present, Defendini said.

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