East Harlem School Staffer Tests Positive For Coronavirus

HARLEM, NY — An employee at an East Harlem public school tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing their close contacts to be quarantined, the city announced Friday.

The staffer works at PS 146, the Anna M. Short School, on East 106th Street, the Department of Education said. It was one of 21 new coronavirus cases that the DOE announced Friday in which the staffer had reported to the school building. (Staff began returning to school buildings Sept. 8 to prepare for the school year, which started remotely this week.)

The city also announced confirmed COVID-19 cases at 14 city school buildings where the employee who tested positive had not been present in the building. That included at least two more Harlem schools: the Adam Clayton Powell Educational Complex on West 129th Street and P.S. 125 Ralph Bunche on West 123rd Street

DOE protocol does not automatically close down a school if one coronavirus case is detected, though staff have the option to work from home while contact tracing is completed.

In-person learning, set to begin Sept. 21 citywide, was abruptly pushed back for most students on Thursday. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the youngest students will return to school Monday, while older students will arrive through a phased-in reopening through Oct. 1. It was the second time the city delayed students' return to classrooms.

The city had tested 19,000 school employees through Friday, with a positivity rate of .33 percent, the DOE said.