3 Oyster Bay-East Norwich Schools Close After Positive Tests

OYSTER BAY, NY — Three students in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the district said Monday. In a letter to students, parents and faculty, Superintendent Laura Seinfeld said it was notified Monday afternoon that one student from each school in the district tested positive.

"Our medical team took swift action by initiating the District’s health response plan and is working closely with the Nassau County Department of Health (DOH) during its investigation," Seinfeld said.

Oyster Bay High School, James H. Vernon School and Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School were all closed for in-person instruction Tuesday as a precaution while the county health department investigated the cases.

Students were asked to switch to remote learning from home and all staff members, excluding monitors, were to report to school.

The three students were last in school Friday, the district said. Staff are helping the health department in contact tracing efforts by providing a list of people who were likely in close contact with the infected students. The state Department of Health said a close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 10 minutes beginning at least two days before illness onset until the time the person was isolated.

The district has inspected its facilities and taken precautions to deep clean and sanitize all areas that may have been infected, Seinfeld said.

This is the second time the Oyster Bay-East Norwich school district has dealt with positive cases in the early days of the new school year.

In a Sept. 7 letter to the community — just a day before classes were to resume — Seinfeld said the district had two known cases of COVID-19; one involved a high school student who was not in any school building, and another involved a Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School worker who was in the building the previous week.

In those cases, Seinfeld said the district implemented its health response plan immediately and followed all safety protocols under state health department directives. It wasn't immediately clear whether the previous cases were associated with the three new cases.

"As required, we have worked with DOH officials on contact tracing to contain the spread of illness," Seinfeld said in her first letter to the community. "The student and his/her family members are taking the proper precautions to quarantine and are under the care of their health provider. "

Seinfeld said the district's COVID-19 coordinator was talking with staff to ensure health and safety protocols were followed.

"As a precaution, all areas of the building that may have been affected have been disinfected following a deep cleaning procedure and school operations and schedules will continue as planned," she said at the time.

Several school districts were forced to close within a week of reopening, including Port Washington, Syosset, New Hyde Park and Seaford, among others.