COVID in schools: Regional data released for New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- New York schools are required to submit the number of positive COVID cases to the New York State Department of Health during the 2020-2021 school year. Those numbers were made available on the state’s COVID-19 Report Card website.

The site was temporarily taken offline at the beginning of the school year while undergoing updates, making case information unavailable to the public. The site was back online on Monday. On September 23, the DOH said it would be available to the public no later than September 27.

Since the beginning of the school year, schools have been required to submit daily reports of COVID cases to the state’s site. DOH said this process was unhindered while the site was being overhauled.

The Capital Region has had the fourth least number of students diagnosed with COVID since September 1 (1,390). New York City has had the most (6,234), and the Mohawk Valley has had the least (804).

Cases in students ages 5-17

The number of cases in teachers and staff roughly followed the same trend as student cases. Again the Capital Region reported the fourth-lowest number of cases (115) since September 13. Mohawk Valley reported the lowest (74) and New York City reported the most (680).

Cases in teachers/staff

Both neighboring states Massachusetts and Vermont have reported far fewer cases of COVID among students since the beginning of the school year. Vermont reported 344, from August 23 to September 20, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Massachusetts reported 3,466 cases among students from September 13-22, and 508 among staff, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education.