Health

East Hampton School District officials on Tuesday alerted parents to a new case of Covid-19 in a kindergarten student at the John M. Marshall Elementary School.

The Montauk School and the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center reported cases of Covid-19 over the weekend, and students in one class at each school have been told to quarantine.

According to a statement released on Saturday by District Superintendent Jeff Nichols, the student, who attends Pierson High School, has not been there since Oct. 9.

From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the biggest concerns for the health care community has been not only the actual effects of the novel coronavirus itself but also the secondary impacts upon people's health and well-being. There were concerns about how increasing numbers of patients with Covid-19 might overwhelm the clinics and hospitals in terms of simple numbers, but the impact upon preventive health was also very worrisome. 

As Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone continues to blast Washington, D.C., lawmakers for inaction on a Covid-19 assistance plan that could help municipalities, one of the impacts of that lag is that taxpayers in public school districts are already footing the bill for the rising costs of preventing the virus's spread in classrooms and hallways.

After detecting a spike in coronavirus infections in Suffolk County during the first week of October, when more than 100 new cases were reported in a single day for the first time since mid-July, the county reported far fewer new cases this week, but noted an increase in Covid-related hospitalizations.

The New York State Health Department has charged In the Know Experiences, the concert promoter involved in the Chainsmokers concert held in Water Mill in July, with violating public health law. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that the state will seek $20,000 in fines for holding a "nonessential gathering" and failing to enforce the wearing of face coverings.

For the first time since July 13, more than 100 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported in a single day in Suffolk County last week, with 104 people testing positive on Thursday and 103 on Friday. After dipping to 49 on Sunday, by Monday the number of new cases in the county was up to 89, and on Tuesday 109 new cases were reported, according to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office.

The novel coronavirus causing Covid-19 has the ability to affect many body systems and can lead to such a wide variety of symptoms that it is difficult to say without a test whether certain symptoms are those of a cold or Covid.

Covid-19 continued this week to wreak havoc in local schools, with cases popping up in Montauk and Springs for the first time and a third instance emerging in East Hampton's John M. Marshall Elementary School.

As the pandemic continues, temperatures drop, and people prepare to spend more time indoors, East End homeowners are clamoring to upgrade ventilation systems with air filters and purifiers, among other devices to keep their homes as Covid-safe as possible.

Saoirse and Adrie Quinn are old enough to remember school before Covid-19 — before home was "school" on some days. Now Saoirse, a Springs School second grader, and Adrie, a fifth grader, are adjusting to a new normal, one that accounts for every moment of the on-site school day, but leaves them and their parents accountable for their remote learning at home.