Schenectady County Covid-19 Information Center

If you are concerned that you may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 or feel that you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your primary care provider before arriving there. For anyone feeling more severely ill, particularly, with trouble breathing, seek medical care without delay, but always with a call before you go.

Find a testing location near you.

Residents can contact their primary care provider about testing, or find a testing site near them at the link above. 

If you test positive for COVID-19, whether you are vaccinated or not vaccinated, you will need to isolate. Isolation is used to separate people who are infected with COVID-19 from those who are not infected. If you test positive you should stay home until instructed by Schenectady County Public health that it is okay to leave.

What to do:

· Monitor your symptoms. If you have an emergency warning sign (including trouble breathing), seek emergency medical care immediately

· Stay in a separate room from other household members, if possible

· Use a separate bathroom, if possible

· Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets

· Don’t share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils

· Wear a mask if you have to be around other people

· Notify those you may have exposed that they should quarantine

Who should you notify:

· Anyone you have been closer than 6ft to for a cumulative time of 15 minutes over a 24 hours period or more, even those who are vaccinated

· Anyone who lives in your house

· Your direct supervisor at work

· Your Health Care Provider

· Schenectady County Public Health Services

If you need assistance or have questions please call Schenectady County Public Health Services at (518) 836-2400.

If you are exposed and you are FULLY VACCINATED (2 weeks past second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or 2 weeks past 1 dose of J&J) you DO NOT need to quarantine as long as you are not experiencing any symptoms. If you are fully vaccinated you should get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you do not have symptoms and wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. If you are experience symptoms of COVID-19 you should stay home and isolate yourself from others, call your Health Care Provider, and call Schenectady County Public Health Services.

If you are exposed and NOT fully vaccinated you will need to quarantine for 10 days past your last date of exposure.

What to do:

· Stay home for 10 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19. Watch for symptoms for 14 days past exposure.

· Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.

· If possible, stay away from people you live with, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.

· If you have symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact Schenectady County Public Health Services and your healthcare provider.

If you need assistance or have questions please call Schenectady County Public Health Services at (518) 836-2400.

There is no longer an exemption for "essential workers" for quarantine. Everyone who is exposed and not fully vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days past exposure regardless of their job.

Schenectady County is now offering additional COVID-19 vaccine doses for eligible individuals at all County vaccine PODs.

In August, the NYS Department of Health authorized all providers currently enrolled in the NYS COVID-19 vaccination program to administer an additional (third) dose for certain people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or receipt of immunosuppressive medications or treatments. Qualified individuals must have completed a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine 2-dose series at least 28 days prior to receiving an additional (third) dose and fill out a self-attestation form at the vaccine POD.

Eligible conditions and treatments include but are not limited to: 

• Active treatment for solid tumor or hematologic malignancies;
• Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy;
• Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy);
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection; and
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e. ≥ 20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

New Yorkers should contact their healthcare provider about whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them at this time. 

If you need an additional dose, bring your vaccination card to any of our PODs (schedule available above). No doctor's note or referral is required. Individuals must fill out a self-attestation form at the vaccination site before receiving the additional dose. 

Please click here to report a positive case and their contacts at your organization

New York State has issued updated guidance regarding schools with a specific focus on when students and staff need to be excluded from school for possible COVID symptoms and what steps they need to take to return. Schenectady County Public Health Services continues to work closely with the schools via weekly calls with local districts and will be assisting in understanding and navigating new guidelines as they are released.  If you have questions about a specific situation, please contact your school district or call 518-386-2824 option 4 to speak to a member of the SCPHS contact tracing staff.
NYS Department of Health PreK-12th Grade Toolkit

Please use our Online Reporting Tool for Schools and Businesses to report a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 to the Public Health Department.

NYS Coronavirus comprehensive information

CDC - Center for Disease Control - Coronavirus comprehensive information