Islip School District Officials Address Community Concerns

ISLIP, NY — Islip school officials addressed parents' concerns in a letter to the community, ensuring residents that there has been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Islip area and that they are monitoring the situation.

"I have been in close communication with the Suffolk Department of Health and the New York State Department of Education regarding the coronavirus or COVID–19," Superintendent Ellen Semel wrote in the letter.

As of Thursday, there are 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Suffolk County. Nassau County continues to have the highest number of cases on Long Island, now reaching 40. The Islip school district has no reported or confirmed cases of COVID–19. Officials say they are "currently aware" of two people who meet the criteria for self-quarantine due to travel or contact with someone who has traveled internationally.

Several school districts across Long Island have closed for 24 or 48 hours in accordance with new protocols set forth by Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State Department of Health. The protocol states that if a student or staff member attended school before being confirmed as a coronavirus case, the department of health requires an initial 24-hour closure, in order to begin an investigation to determine the contacts that the person may have had within the school environment. In addition, during that initial 24-hour closure, the school is required to immediately take steps to clean and disinfect the school building where the student or staff had contact before testing positive.

However, the district did decide to suspend all games and scrimmages until April 3. All OUTDOOR practices will continue but, per Section XI, no games, scrimmage, or combined practices will take place until after April 3.

A staff member at Bayview Elementary School in West Islip tested positive for the virus and all schools in the West Islip school district were closed Thursday. In response to the news, Semel wanted to address some rumors.

"Some of you may have viewed the news conference held by County Executive Steve Bellone in which he stated that there is a confirmed case in Islip. Actually, there is a confirmed case in the Town of Islip, not Islip hamlet, our community," she wrote in the letter. "That confirmed case is in West Islip. This difference caused some confusion. Please know that the Islip School District utilizes a comprehensive cleaning process across all District facilities in an effort to maintain a healthy and safe environment for students, staff, and visitors."

Semel goes on to state that the district's facilities department employees are trained in state-of-the-art cleaning and maintenance techniques and furnished with the appropriate equipment and supplies to meet the hygiene standards. The cleaning procedure can effectively combat known viruses, including COVID–19, and the staff is trained and equipped to address an elevated level of cleaning should the district be informed of a confirmed case of coronavirus within a building.

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