The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving was a question on many parents’ mind, safe to say, in any state in the nation. If kids cases were increasing right before the holiday break, what would it be upon returning to school?

The Beacon City School District’s (BCSD) Superintendent Landahl was quick to provide an answer, as is consistent with any confirmed case in the district on a daily basis. In an email to parents and caregivers sent today (11/30/2021), he said:

“Over Thanksgiving break, we learned of 9 total cases of COVID-19 in the BCSD. Two individuals at Rombout Middle School and seven individuals at Beacon High School. Due to the length of time these individuals have been out of school, there is no quarantining with these cases. This is an aggregate number of cases we learned about over the five days of break.”

UPDATE 12/2/2021: The confirmed cases that are announced by Dr. Landahl are those of any person in the district schools. A person could be a teacher, a student, etc.

The BCSD has layered safety measures in place inside of each school, such as more space in cafeterias, outdoor learning areas, reduced populations in the hallways during class changes, and other measures to encourage social distancing.

Ventilation Upgrades In Aging Beacon City Schools

During the last Capital Project for the district, Rombout Middle School did receive ventilation-based upgrades. This was a fortunate coincidence in preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Landahl explained during his 2021 presentation of this next Capital Project that did get passed by City of Beacon voters. Ventilation upgrades are planned for each of Beacon’s six public schools.

You can learn more of Dr. Landahl’s thinking during his presentation at a Board of Education Meeting here.

Vaccinations and Kids

For additional clinic opportunities, Dr. Landahl has been encouraging access to pediatric clinics from the holistic pharmacist Dr. Neal Smoller, who conducted the vaccination clinic at the Beacon High School in early November 2021. Because of the need for volunteers, Dr. Landahl said during a recent school board meeting that Beacon will most likely not hold additional vaccination clinics, or at least not very many, as it was difficult to get volunteers.

In an email to district parents and caregivers dated 11/30/2021, Dr. Landahl stated: “There are a number of opportunities to get the Pediatric Pfizer vaccine. Dr. Neal Smoller, the pharmacist we are partnered with, has a number of community clinics coming up that you can join. Visit drneal.co/kids to see the full schedule”

Appointments at stores and pharmacies are also available. You can visit Vaccines.gov for an easy zip-code based database that connects you with websites for online scheduling, or phone numbers for appointments made over the phone. These include Drug Mart in Cold Spring, Walmart in Fishkill, and other familiar locations.