Notification of Positive COVID-19 Test of Student

Sept. 30, 2020 

Students, Faculty and Staff –

I hope this finds you well. I’m writing to inform you that we learned recently that a North Country Community College student who is taking classes online has tested positive for COVID-19. The student reported the positive test to an instructor and is now in isolation. Our understanding is that the student has experienced very minor symptoms and appears to be in good health, which we’re grateful to hear and report.

The student, like most of our students this fall, has been taking classes remotely, has not been on campus and has not had any physical contact with any other students, or faculty or staff. The positive test has been reported to county public health officials, who are conducting the necessary contact tracing.

For privacy reasons, the college will not report the name, campus, program of study, or any other identifying information of any student who test positive for COVID-19 unless a public health agency advises that there is a health and public safety benefit to reporting such details.

North Country Community College, like other colleges and universities, expected that we would likely experience cases of the virus this fall, which is why we made the decision to conduct most instruction online and worked with SUNY and public health officials to implement screening, monitoring, social distancing, testing and other protocols for the small number of students and employees who would be on campus.

Most recently, we’ve required students to present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result prior to arriving on campus for any reason other than a curbside pickup arrangement. After students are initially tested, if they will be on campus regularly, they must agree to participate in pooled surveillance testing (conducted by the college) every two weeks. Pooled surveillance testing began this week with a group of students who will be on our Saranac Lake campus.

These testing protocols will continue on all campuses throughout the semester and, as with the aforementioned case, we will notify the college community in the event of a positive case. For more information on our testing plans and guidelines, please visit www.nccc.edu/fall-2020.

Going forward, I’d encourage all members of the college community to continue doing everything they can to lower the risk of infection – maintain social distancing, wear a face covering and wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at your convenience.

Best,

Chris Knight

Communications Director