Forest Hills School Where COVID Cases Doubled To Stay Open: Data

FOREST HILS, QUEENS — Students will continue to learn in-person at a Forest Hills school where COVID cases have more than doubled in the past week.

At least two students and two staff members at P.S. 220 Edward Mandel, an elementary school located at 62-10 108th Street in Forest Hills, have tested positive for the coronavirus since Nov. 9th, data shows.

This case count is relatively small compared to the number of COVID cases at other public schools in Queens, but the uptick brings the Forest Hills school's total case count for this school year to 7, meaning cases have more than doubled in the last seven days.

An investigation at the beginning of the week, however, found that "no intervention" was needed at the school, meaning that it remains open, according to the Department of Education's COVID case map.

The DOE did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment about the nature of the investigation and what triggered it.

When investigations have happened in the past, though, the DOE and Department of Health check out the COVID transmission situation at the school, and unless the agencies find "widespread in-school transmission," the school will stay open.

At the time of the investigation — which spanned from Nov. 14th through 15th — two classrooms in the elementary school were partially closed due to COVID-related exposures, data shows, meaning that some COVID-positive people weren't in class, but vaccinated children who were exposed to the virus were still learning in-person.

One of the two sick staff members tested positive on the final day of the intervention, records show.

Both of the classrooms where some COVID-positive people are currently missing from class, however, will reopen next Monday, Nov. 22nd, brining the number of closures down to zero, based on current records.

The investigation in Forest Hills comes after a week when two public schools were forced to temporarily close amid COVID-19 outbreaks, bringing the total number of COVID-related school closures in NYC to three this academic year.

Another private school in Astoria is closed this week, too, as a "precautionary" measure amid an uptick in cases, Patch reported.

Despite this spike, the demand for vaccination at NYC public schools has exceeded expectations, Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week, when the city began administering Pfizer vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds following federal authorization.

The mayor announced Tuesday that the city will expand its school vaccination program given the higher-than-expected demand for the shots at public schools; the expansion will include charter schools as of Friday and a second round of vaccination at public schools starting Nov. 30, even though city officials originally planned to only have first doses available at the school sites.