NY To Probe Coronavirus Outbreak After HS Graduation Ceremony

CHAPPAQUA, NY — A coronavirus cluster in Westchester County linked to the Horace Greeley High School graduation ceremony and parties is now under investigation by the New York State Department of Health.

The governor also issued a new executive order that makes employees who voluntarily travel to high-risk states after June 25 ineligible for New York COVID-19 paid sick leave.

Meanwhile, anyone who attended the HGHS graduation ceremony, Field Night event, or events associated with graduation, which continued into June 21, should extend their quarantine period until July 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

Cuomo said he has directed state health officials to investigate the outbreak because a person who had recently traveled to Florida, then attended Greeley graduation events, began showing symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19.

Since then, he said, four more people who attended the ceremony and had contact with the first positive case have also tested positive.

SEE: Chappaqua Students Reported Infected With New Coronavirus

"New Yorkers have controlled the spread of this unprecedented virus by being smart and disciplined, and our progress to date is illustrated by the current low numbers of new cases and hospitalizations," Cuomo said. "But as we are seeing in other states who reopened quickly, the pandemic is far from over and we need stay vigilant. We're prepared to do the aggressive testing and contact tracing required to slow and ultimately control any potential clusters of new cases like the one in Westchester County. If we are going to maintain the progress we've seen, we need everyone to take personal responsibility — that's why I'm issuing an executive order that says any New York employee who voluntarily travels to a high-risk state will not be eligible for the COVID protections we created under paid sick leave."

In addition to the drive-in graduation ceremony held on June 20 at the Chappaqua Train Station, the student participated in a non-school related "Field Night" event, which was also attended by juniors and seniors and students from surrounding school districts.

All who have tested positive are currently self-isolating, he said.

The New York State Department of Health and the Westchester County Health Department are working with officials from Horace Greeley to identify all individuals who attended the graduation ceremony and any subsequent gatherings where they may have been exposed. The New York State Contact Tracing Program will be reaching out to identified individuals and anyone who attended the ceremony or subsequent gatherings should get tested.

On June 14, New York State DOH issued guidance to ensure any district that decides to host a graduation ceremony adheres to appropriate protective measures including social distancing, limitations on number of attendees, wearing face coverings, and other precautions.

Part of the investigation will be to determine whether that guidance had been followed in New Castle.

As part of its public health outreach, the State and County DOH encourage testing for anybody who attended the graduation ceremony or the Field Night event and may have come in contact with an infected individual. For information about testing, please contact your local healthcare provider, or visit https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing.

On Friday, the governor announced New York State Department of Health's contact tracing program has identified and is investigating two clusters related to COVID-19 in upstate New York. The clusters are being tracked by the state in conjunction with local health departments. For each cluster, isolation and quarantine measures are in place for positive cases and known contacts. Everyone who tested positive is isolated, and every contact of a known positive is quarantined.

The governor also reminded all New Yorkers to answer calls from Contact Tracing System and get tested if you experience symptoms.

Executive Order Provision Making New Yorkers Traveling to High-Risk States Ineligible for COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave

Consistent with Governor Cuomo's recently announced mandated quarantine of all incoming travelers from hotspots around the country, employees will forgo their paid sick leave benefits from New York's COVID-19 paid sick leave law if they engage in non-essential travel to any state that has a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. This provision does not apply if the employee travels for work or at the employer's request. The provision included in Executive Order 202.45 mirrors the law's existing provision that makes New Yorkers ineligible for paid sick leave if they travel to any country designated as having a level two or three travel health notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.