BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York State is launching an online dashboard with the idea that you can access it and easily see if there are any positive COVID-19 cases at your school, but as of right now the dashboard doesn't show anything.
On Tuesday, the Governor said the state is requiring every school district to report the number of tests taken, the type of tests they are, and what the results are every day. Those numbers are all supposed to be posted on the dashboard so you can look up the numbers for your school.
The dashboard should show you the numbers for students and staff, and let you know if they were doing in-person, remote, or hybrid learning. The Governor says the information will come from school districts, health departments, and the labs doing the tests.
"The school districts have to report. The school has to report. We did that by Executive Order. So, we will have the information. If there's a problem, we will see the problem, and then we will respond," Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a call with reporters on Thursday.
But, as we filed this report Thursday afternoon, there was no data posted yet.
Thursday morning, 2 On Your Side asked the Governor's office for an update on when the numbers might start showing up. A spokesperson for the NYS Department of Health got back to us after our deadline saying the dashboard would go live next week.
The Governor talked about the dashboard on that conference call with reporters Thursday morning.
"The information is empowering. I will share that information with New Yorkers. They will know everything I know, and then we will respond to the information as we get the information. If we have to do something different, we will do something different," Cuomo said.
The Amherst Central Schools Superintendent announced Thursday that someone tested positive for COVID-19 in the district. He says the person who tested positive will not be allowed into the buildings until they've met the district's requirements to return which are based on state and local health department guidelines.
2 On Your Side asked the Superintendent's office for information about how it's handling finding out about positive cases, and we were told to refer to the letter the Superintendent sent out Thursday morning.
It says that since the district is "not conducting COVID-19 testing, we ask that you contact the building principal if your child tests positive for COVID-19."
