ERIE COUNTY DISTRIBUTES FACE MASKS AND COVID-19 TEST KITS TO SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Adult and child-sized masks supplied by New York State 

Antigen test kits offered to schools on a limited basis for staff who cannot provide COVID-19 vaccination status

ERIE COUNTY, NY – The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) and Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) distributed supplies to school districts and non-public schools on Wednesday, September 29 to aid in their COVID-19 prevention activities.

“Governor Hochul announced that this resource would be provided to county health departments for use by schools, and our distribution team did an incredible job to coordinate distribution of about 339,000 face masks to more than 100 Erie County schools,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “We are very glad to be able to support masking in schools as an effective preventive measure against COVID-19 with this resource.”

Schools in New York State have requirements related to routine testing of school staff who do not provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination. “While schools and staff are finding a more permanent way of routine testing for unvaccinated staff or starting their COVID-19 vaccine series, ECDOH purchased antigen test kits to make that transition easier for schools,” explained Dr. Burstein. “Nearly 50 schools and school districts requested tests, and ECDOH is including two weeks’ worth of tests with their mask supply.”

#

• Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH), School Testing: www.erie.gov/schooltesting
• ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine info & clinic schedule: http://www.erie.gov/vax
• ECDOH, COVID-19 Information Line: (716) 858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available
• ECDOH, COVID-19 Weekly Data Updates: https://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=covid-19-media-data
• Erie County COVID-19 Wastewater Testing: http://erie.gov/covid19-wastewater
• New York State Department of Health, COVID-19 Boosters: http://ny.gov/boosters

###