Erie County: Additional information on potential exposure from positive COVID-19 case in Clarence

Following the positive test results of three individuals in Erie County for COVID-19 late Saturday, epidemiologists with the Erie County Department of Health (“ECDOH”) began an intensive investigation into tracing the movements and potential close contacts of each individual following their return to Erie County from out of the area.

In regard to the individual who tested positive from Clarence, the individual and their family are in quarantine in a private residence. A child who resides in the same household is a student at Clarence Center elementary. The child has had no symptoms, but attended school last week and is being tested as are the other family members for coronavirus/COVID-19. The results are expected to be completed by the end of tomorrow.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein and Superintendent of Clarence Central Schools Geoffrey Hicks discussed the matter on a conference call today and actions will be taken to ensure the safety of the students, teachers and other staff of Clarence Center elementary.

The Clarence Central School District is closed until further notice. The district will engage in deep cleaning of all Clarence buildings on Monday, March 16.

ECDOH interviewed the individual in Clarence about his movements and activity since returning to Erie County. ECDOH then contacted organizations and businesses where there may have been a potential exposure while the individual was contagious; there was no indication of a risk of COVID-19 exposure to the general public. Close contacts that can be identified through contact tracing are being notified of their potential exposure to COVID-19 and will be placed under mandatory quarantine to monitor for symptoms.

For more information:

• Erie County Department of Health, COVID-19 information line: 716-858-2929 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays)
• Erie County Department of Health, COVID-19 resources: www.erie.gov/covid19
• New York State Department of Health coronavirus hotline: 1-888-364-3065
• New York State Department of Health, novel coronavirus: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus: http://www.coronavirus.gov
• World Health Organization, coronavirus: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus