Schools in Erie County and Niagara County are no longer required to do mass testing of students and staff, following the lifting of the state's "orange zone" and "yellow zone" restrictions in Western New York.
A spokeswoman for the state Health Department said schools in the former microcluster zones do not have to continue random testing of students and staff for Covid-19.
“My anticipation is that districts will be in touch with their stakeholders around what it means for their particular district,” said Hamburg Superintendent Michael Cornell, who is president of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association.
Districts could immediately stop testing, phase it out, or continue testing.
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In Buffalo Public Schools, where students will be phased back into the classroom starting Monday, testing will start next week and is expected to continue through February, regardless of whether the requirement has been lifted.
“We are going to Covid test through February anyway so that we have an idea of the prevalence of the disease in our schools and communities,” said Elena Cala, a spokeswoman for the school district.
Under state microcluster rules, schools in an "orange zone" have to test a random sampling of 20% of students and staff each month. If there are nine or more cases in a school, or if the positivity rate is over 3%, the school has to close.
Schools in a "yellow zone" have to test 20% of their staff and students in the two weeks following the designation. If the positivity rate is below the community’s rate, then the school in the "yellow zone" does not have to continue the testing.
Maki Becker
