Farmingdale Elementary Student Tests Positive For Coronavirus

FARMINGDALE, NY — A student of Saltzman East Memorial Elementary School in Farmingdale tested positive for the coronavirus, the district learned Wednesday night. The building will remain open on Friday, the community was told in a letter from superintendent Paul Defendini.

The school's custodial team performed extra rounds of deep cleaning and sanitization in the affected areas on top of its regular regimen to prepare for Friday's in-person classes.

Contact tracing was done, and all families and staff members who were directly exposed were
notified and will begin the required quarantine period on Friday.

"As such, the building has been prepared for re-entry and is safe to reopen to our faculty and students on Friday ... " Defendini said. "The health, safety and wellness of our students, faculty, staff and community are the Farmingdale School District’s most important priority. This will be a unique school year. We are unwavering in our commitment to maintain a safe, nurturing and successful academic environment. We thank you for your continued patience and cooperation."

On Sept. 10, the district learned a staff member at Farmingdale High School tested positive for the coronavirus. The staffer had not been in the building that week after experiencing flu-like symptoms over the three-day weekend, Defendini said. The staff member never came in direct contact with any students in the building, according to Defendini.

On Wednesday, the district was told that a staff member at Albany Avenue and a staff member at Northside Elementary School will be placed into quarantine for 14 days. The staff members have not tested positive for the coronavirus, but they were in close contact with a person who recently tested positive, Defendini said. In this case, those infected with COVID-19 are not employees of the district, according to Defendini.

There was a similar situation reported Monday at Woodward Parkway, as the district was informed that a staff member would be quarantined for 14 days. The person did not test positive for the coronavirus, but they were in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19. The infected person is not a district employee either, as in the Northside and Albany Avenue cases.