COVID Update for Case Reporting 2024-2025
NYOS Updates
- Students no longer report COVID-19 positive test results to NYOS staff, students, or families
- Absence reporting will follow the same rules and policies as reporting other illness-related absences
- Mandatory 5-day stay home is no longer required
A positive COVID-19 test means the virus was detected and you have or recently had an infection.
- Take steps to prevent the spreading of COVID-19.
- Monitor your symptoms. If you have any emergency warning signs, seek emergency care immediately.
- Seek health care right away for treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness. Treatment may be an option to make your symptoms less severe and shorten the time you are sick. Treatment needs to be started within a few days of when your symptoms begin.
When can I return to work/school after testing positive for COVID-19
Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.
- You can go back to your work/school and/or normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
- Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
- You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
- When you go back to your normal activities, take added precautions over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.
- Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
- If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Then take added precautions for the next 5 days.
If your COVID-19 test is negative
A negative COVID-19 test means the test did not detect the virus, but this doesn't rule out that you could have an infection. If you used an antigen test, follow FDA recommendations for repeat testing.
If you have symptoms:
A negative COVID-19 test means the test did not detect the virus, but this doesn't rule out that you could have an infection. If you used an antigen test, follow FDA recommendations for repeat testing.
If you have symptoms:
- You may have COVID-19 but tested before the virus was detectable.
- You may have another viral infection or illness.
- Take actions to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by respiratory viruses.