Schools

Daily Coronavirus Dashboard Mandated For All NY School Districts

The new requirement was announced Thursday and goes into effect after Labor Day.

A new mandate requires districts to provide the state Health Department with daily data on the number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in each school.
A new mandate requires districts to provide the state Health Department with daily data on the number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in each school. (Shutterstock)

New York school districts will be required to provide the Department of Health with daily data on the number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in each school under a new mandate with a short turnaround time.

The districts have to send data in daily starting Tuesday, state officials said.

For many, that's the first day of school as well as the first day back from the long Labor Day weekend.

Find out what's happening in Southeast-Brewsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the dashboard Thursday morning in a news briefing. In a news release Thursday afternoon he said that DOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker was sending a letter to all school districts informing them of the reporting requirements and the new dashboard.

"As soon we receive the information, we will work with staff to study the requirements," Ossining Superintendent Ray Sanchez told Patch Thursday afternoon.

Find out what's happening in Southeast-Brewsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cuomo said the information will be publicly available on a new online dashboard. That is being developed by DOH, and will be found here beginning Wednesday, he said.

Most school districts in New York are in the process of opening, many with remote learning only for the first few weeks.

"Many of the school districts have testing protocols that will be in place as part of their plans, but as I've said from the beginning, those plans are only as good as their implementation," Cuomo said. "Parents and teachers are understandably concerned about schools reopening. Dr. Zucker and the State Department of Health will set up a dashboard for teachers and parents, so they know exactly what's happening in their schools. I hope this will give teachers and parents some confidence that the plans are being implemented and if there's a positive case, they will know and DOH will know and the locals can respond quickly."

School districts must provide a link to the daily dashboard on their website for other interested parties, Cuomo said.


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