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COVID case found at Lake Placid school

Lake Placid Middle High School (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — A positive case of COVID-19 has been discovered within the Lake Placid Central School District.

The district was notified of the case on Friday afternoon and notified families via phone. The Essex County Health Department announced the case to the broader community on Friday evening.

The district is declining to say at this time whether the case was found in a student, teacher or staff member. The person was isolated after learning of the exposure to someone outside the school community who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the county Health Department.

The county Health Department was still investigating the case and identifying close contacts at press time Friday evening.

“The positive case is isolating at home and those identified as contacts are in the process of being reached by our department,” Essex County Public Health Director Linda Beers said in a statement. “Anyone determined to be a contact of the positive case will receive a call from the Health Department to discuss their risk and the measures necessary to reduce further infections.”

The risk of exposure is low because of health and safety practices the district has implemented, according to the county Health Department.

Lake Placid Elementary School will continue to operate with in-person classes, but students at Lake Placid Middle-High School will be learning remotely on Monday, per the district’s reopening plan, according to Superintendent Roger Catania. The school will be closed for at least 24 hours on Monday, during which time the building will be deep-cleaned. The school will stay closed until administrators can reassess the situation based on the county’s investigation and contact tracing efforts, according to Catania.

“We’re going to get out more information as needed from the school itself about remote instruction,” he said. “For now, what parents need to know is that students will remain home on Monday with school instruction being delivered remotely.”

There were 15 active cases of COVID-19 across Essex County on Friday, five of them new since Thursday. Eight of those 15 are in the town of North Elba, while the towns of Jay, Keene, St. Armand, Wilmington, Essex, Schroon and Moriah have one each.

In neighboring Franklin County, there were 54 active cases of COVID-19, 10 new cases reported Friday, four of which are isolating in another county. Altogether, 323 people are either in isolation or quarantine across the county.

Statewide, 2.65% of 203,721 tests processed came back positive on Thursday, down from 2.95% on Wednesday.

Anyone with questions about COVID-19 can call the Essex County Health Department at 518-873-3500 or visit www.co.essex.ny.us/health.

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