FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 28, 2020 
Contact: John Lyon, Director of Strategic Communications (845) 638-5645 
                     Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, D.O., M.P.H., CPE, DABFM, FAAFP (845) 364-2512 

 School Testing Sites Announced: 
One Week of Coordinated Testing to Begin 

New City, NY, - The Rockland County Department of Health has partnered with Good Samaritan Hospital to provide one-week of testing for school districts within Rockland's Yellow Zone, beginning Monday, November 30^th. Schools within the Yellow Zone are required to test 20% of students, faculty, and staff over the two-week period immediately following the announcement of a Yellow Zone designation in order to stay open for in-person instruction. School districts have until December 9, 2020 to meet this initial requirement. 

If the results of the 20% testing show the positivity rate of those tested is lower than the yellow zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, testing at that school will no longer be required to continue in-person instruction. This indicates that in-person instruction is not a significant driver of local viral spread. The current positivity rate for Rockland County can be found at, https://forward.ny.gov/percentage-positive-results-county-dashboard. 

However, if the results of the two-week testing reveal that the positivity rate among in-person student, staff, and faculty is higher than the Yellow Zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, the school will be required to continue to test 20% of the in-person population over a two-week period. 

Good Samaritan Hospital is providing the staff to perform the testing and to record test results. At this time, the hospital is able to provide this assistance to our local schools but cannot guarantee a continuance of these services. 

Testing will be available Monday – Friday during the week of November 30^th to any student, faculty, or staff member from any of the schools within Rockland's Yellow Zone. Any person from a school within the Yellow Zone, who needs to be tested, can go to any test site. 

This testing is NOT for people having symptoms of COVID-19. These testing sites are ONLY for members of the school communities affected by the Governor's Yellow Zone restrictions. 

Testing will take place from 11:00 am – 2:00pm at the following locations; please follow all signs at each site.  Remember to wear a mask and maintain social distancing:

• Monday, November 30 - Palisades Center Mall Garage Entrance West (ramp entrance next to Best Buy).  This is a drive-up site or walk-up for those arriving by bus (please follow signs).

• Tuesday, December 1 - Suffern High School located at 49 Viola Road in Suffern (10901)

• Wednesday, December 2 - Spring Valley High School located at 361 E. Route 59 in Spring Valley (10977)

• Thursday, December 3 - Rockland BOCES, Bldg. 10 located at 65 Parrott Road in West Nyack (10994)

• Friday, December 4 - Palisades Center Mall Garage Entrance West (ramp entrance next to Best Buy).  This is a drive-up site or walk-up for those arriving by bus (please follow signs).

Please complete the registration form prior to arriving at one of the testing sites. A parent or guardian will need to sign the consent (on the bottom of the page) for testing a minor. Good Samaritan Hospital will notify you of the test results. 

"In the interest of public health, we are working with Good Samaritan Hospital to decrease the burden of testing on our school districts. We want students to be able to attend in-person classes if possible. However, because we cannot ensure the continuation of these testing services, we advise all of our local districts to prepare to meet the Governor's testing requirements on their own," said Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert. 

Download: Registration Form 

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