Sayville Middle School Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus

SAYVILLE, NY — A staff member from Sayville Middle School tested positive for the coronavirus, the school district announced on Saturday in a letter to the community. While further information on the employee could not be released due to confidentiality laws, Superintendent John Stimmel did state in the letter that the person who contracted the virus was last at work during the previous week.

Sayville students have not been in school since Monday, March 16. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the day before that all public and private K-12 schools in the county were ordered to close for two weeks.

According to Stimmel, the Department of Health Services will conduct an investigation and will notify anyone who may have come into close contact with this individual. In addition, the district has working to perform a deep cleaning of all buildings in general and Sayville Middle School in particular. In response to the news, all district facilities will be closed for everyone for 24 hours, beginning Monday, including the SCOPE Childcare program at Lincoln Avenue and the grab-and-go meal program scheduled to begin at Sayville High School.

"This closure will permit the District to evaluate what additional steps are needed to address the developing situation," a message from school officials read. "The District has been working closely with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services and is awaiting further guidance to share with the community. Staff and parents will be contacted directly concerning what, if any, essential District activities must be addressed for the remainder of the week. This includes the distribution of instructional materials and Chromebooks to families of our elementary-aged students."