Children make up 8% of all of those who have tested positive for Covid-19 in Erie County, but school superintendents learned Monday that the schools are not responsible for testing students.

"Schools are not in charge of testing," Erie County Health Commissioner Dr.

In Erie County, 710 people who are 19 or younger have tested positive, according to the Health Department, making up 8.1% of all positive tests.

Stapleton met in separate meetings with superintendents in their counties Monday and told them health officials will conduct contact tracing and notify students and staff who need to be tested for the virus.

Stapleton said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend mass testing of students and staff to start up school. .

Burstein said the Erie County Health Department will work with one person in each school and give them the name of the person who tested positive.

That would mean keeping track of who was in the classroom throughout the day, including students and teachers; if they wore masks; and if hand sanitizer was available, Stapleton said.

The school could inform parents there has been a positive case without providing specific information about the person, she said.

Burstein and Stapleton said it will primarily be up to superintendents to decide if a school should be closed after someone tests positive. .

But he said the health department can talk with school districts about "numbers that work for them," that include absentee rates for students and faculty, and infection rates in the school and region.

Lewiston-Porter Superintendent Paul Casseri said several Niagara County superintendents will work with the Health Department on a flow chart for what happens in the event of a positive case that districts could add to their reopening plans.

To achieve social distancing, districts plan to have half the students in school at a time, leaving families to find safe childcare for days their kids are not in school