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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. February 2, 2022:

A cross section of school district positives recorded since September seems to indicate that positive tests for covid among students is up from last year’s levels.

In the White Plains City School District of 1,874 students, teachers, and staff, 1,683 have tested positive since the return to in-school instruction in September. That is 21.4 %.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Ricca, asked if this was due to increased testing of students issued this statement:

“Thankfully, our numbers of positive cases are rapidly decreasing. We experienced the surge following the holiday recess. However, since about Wednesday last week, we are moving in the right direction. I do think that the added availability of testing helped us to identify cases as well.”

A WPCNR random sampling of neighboring districts in central Westchester and to the south and north show percentages of positives among students, teachers and staff  to date  from the beginning of school in September by enrollment.

                        POSITIVES         PCT          STUDENTS,TEACHERS      TREND

                                                                           STAFF                   LAST 7 DAYS

                                                                         IN DISTRICT          1/26-FEB 1

WHITE PLAINS       1,683        21.4%                  1,874                      UP 29

GREENBURGH        324           15%                      2,066                    UP 13

 HARRISON:             740          17%                      4,301                    UP 48

SCARSDALE:            887          15.7%                   5,648                     UP 61

VALHALLA              179            11%                      1,609                    UP    7

NEW ROCHELLE    1,032         9%                       11,766                   UP 67

YONKERS               1,779          6.1%                    29,220                  UP 90

MT.VERNON         1,841          22%                        8,316                  UP 9

EASTCHESTER        490            13.5%                    3,626                  UP 16

PORT CHESTER/RYE        623          12%              5,215            UP 27

PEEKSKILL                        420           10%              4,186            UP 10

YORKTOWN                    707            18%               3,951          UP 42

PLEASANTVILLE              322            23%               1,351            UP 5

CHAPPAQUA                  306             7.3%              4,166            UP 8

CORTLANDT                    146             6.5%              2,238             0

Data from the New York State School Positives website

The first two weeks of February will be key to controlling new cases of covid going into the Valentines Day socializing Feb. 12-13,14 followed by the winter recess week of February 18 through  27 (in White Plains). The  relative low positives from January 26 to Feb. 1^st with these towns would indicate that students spreading the coronavirus the first two weeks of February may be low.

In March, schools return to the only month month with 4 straight weeks with no holiday weekends which may elevate the number of positives resulting from Valentines Day and the winter recess that lasts 10 days.  The week-long  winter recess may have the effect of spreading the covid virus.

Adults and students should be wary of spreading or putting themselves in possible situations where they may contact the virus.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — TOMORROW, Wednesday, February 2^nd at 1:30 PM:

 U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will hold a video press conference to call for $55 billion to be included in President Biden’s budget request to establish and replicate a Health Force in every community.

Over the last decade, the nation’s public health workforce lost nearly 40,000 jobs, while state and local budgets were slashed by 16% and 18%, respectively. 

Members of the inaugural NYC Public Health Corps (PHC), New York City’s new local Health Force, carry out initiatives that target a broad spectrum of public health needs—from helping people get vaccinated to counseling residents about diabetes and depression. The NYC Public Health Corps received $35 million to help establish the inaugural Health Force based on Gillibrand’s efforts during passage of the American Rescue Plan. 

Senator Gillibrand is encouraging local governments across New York State to form similar health corps that would benefit from this federal funding and strengthen community health by empowering a knowledgeable workforce that has the trust of local residents, as workers are often from the same neighborhood they serve. 

Senator Gillibrand introduced the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act, a public health jobs program to help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and successfully negotiated its inclusion in the American Rescue Plan. 

The American Rescue Plan included $3 billion for a new public health workforce based on Gillibrand’s Health Force legislation to expand the nation’s public health jobs and infrastructure and aid the country’s vaccine distribution campaign.

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