Covid-19 Information

COVID-19 positive

  • Stay home if sick: Students and staff should stay home if they show any symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses and get tested for COVID-19. 
  • Isolate if COVID-19 positive: Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 5 days and can return to school on day 6 if they have no symptoms or symptoms are improving. They should wear a mask until day 10 after symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is earlier. Masks may be removed during this period if the person has received two negative rapid tests 48 hours apart.
    • These cases should be reported to their school so they can be report into the sit room for exposure notifications.
  • Get tested if exposed to COVID-19: Students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 should get tested.
    • These individuals should receive home tests from their school and take two tests, at least 48 hours apart. All exposed individuals should monitor for fever and other COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after their exposure. If symptoms begin, they should not attend school and should isolate and get tested for COVID-19 again right away. 
  • Testing:
    • At the recommendation of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
      (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-childcare-guidance.html), COVID-19 test kits will be available on-site in our schools and distributed upon request for students and staff
      experiencing symptoms and/or with a known exposure to someone with COVID-19. This new procedure will begin May 1 and replaces the previous practice of automatic distribution of four tests per month to
      each student.

Situation Room

  • Situation Room:
    • Schools will report positive cases of COVID-19 through an online reporting tool.
    • School communities will be notified of cases in their schools through daily email and the Daily COVID map. 

Covid-19 Testing Site

COVID-19 Testing

Free COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

Free COVID-19 rapid testing, PCR testing, clinical evaluation and direct connection to the anti-viral medication Paxlovid is available to you at our mobile Test to Treat sites and Health + Hospitals facilities, which can be found in many locations across the five boroughs. You can also pick up free at-home test kits at over 250 NYC walk-up distribution locations to keep yourself and your loved ones prepared at the first signs of symptoms or exposure!

Use the City’s COVID-19 Test Site Finder to find the no-cost City-run testing site most convenient to you, including a search filter to find the NYC Test & Treat Corps’ mobile Test-to-Treat units and free at-home test distribution sites.

You can also text “COVID TEST” to 855-48 to find a test site near you.

Mobile Test to Treat units, managed by the NYC Test & Treat Corps, provide no-cost instant access to antiviral medication (Paxlovid) for eligible New Yorkers who test positive. Treatment can prevent severe illness and hospitalization.

Every mobile Test to Treat site is staffed with a clinician who can evaluate COVID-positive patients and prescribe Paxlovid.

New Yorkers may now present proof of a positive test — including at-home test results and test results from any external testing provider — at all mobile Test to Treat units to be evaluated for and connected to Paxlovid on site.

Test results must be from within the past 5 days, and patients will be pre-screened for symptoms to determine their eligibility for treatment. Learn more.

In addition, select mobile Test to Treat sites now offer RSV and Flu testing for symptomatic patients and Tamiflu prescriptions for those found eligible. Please make sure RSV or Flu testing is listed as available below the mobile site location.

Rapid Testing at Home

Home Rapid Test Kits

April 3, 2023

Dear Families, At the recommendation of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-childcare-guidance.html), COVID-19 test kits will be available on-site in our schools and distributed upon request for students and staff experiencing symptoms and/or with a known exposure to someone with COVID-19. This new procedure will begin May 1 and replaces the previous practice of automatic distribution of four tests per month to each student.

As always, vaccinations remain our best defense against the spread of COVID-19. We continue to encourage up-to-date vaccinations for all students and wearing masks in indoor settings, especially during respiratory virus season. Please visit our school health policy page at schools.nyc.gov/2023Health for all updated information.

Children aged six months and older are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. If your child is eligible but not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, please take the opportunity to make an appointment at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov or call 311 to find a vaccination site near you. COVID-19 vaccination is free to all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration or insurance status.

Anyone aged five years and older can get the updated COVID-19 booster shot if they received their last vaccine dose at least 2 months ago. Eligible New Yorkers should get the new bivalent booster even if they received the previous booster doses. Please visit cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-todate.html for more information on COVID-19 vaccination schedules. The health and safety of our students is important to us, and we will continue to follow the guidance of our City, State, and federal health agencies.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Tracy Agerton

Assistant Commissioner Office of School Health

Find a COVID-19 Testing Site

All New York City students and staff members are strongly encouraged to get tested. Working in partnership with the Test+Trace Corps, families and staff members can go to any City-run testing sites to get tested or pick up readily available at-home rapid tests.

  • To find a testing site offering rapid tests, visit nyc.gov/covidtest, text “COVID TEST” to 855-48, or call 311

Face Covering

March 7 Face Covering Update 

  • Masking- Face coverings are strongly recommended to be worn when indoors. As of December 9, 2022, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has issued a universal indoor masking recommendation for all indoor settings, including schools and daycare centers, given very high rates of flu and other respiratory conditions.Masks will be made available at the school for all those who need/want them.
    • Students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask when:
      • Returning to school on the sixth day after testing positive for COVID-19, through day 10 after symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is earlier, including when traveling on a school bus. Masks may be removed during this period if the person has received two negative rapid tests 48 hours apart.
      • Entering the school medical room, nurse’s office, or school-based health center.
      • Exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 at school.
    • Students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, are also strongly recommended to wear a mask:
      • When they were exposed to someone with COVID-19, whether the exposure occurred in school or outside of school. The person should wear a mask for 10 days after their last day of exposure and get tested at least 48 hours apart.
      • When they are moderately-to-severely immunocompromised, and masking is recommended by their healthcare provider.
      • In crowded outdoor settings.

Resources