North Country schools see slowing of new COVID-19 cases
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) -- New COVID-19 cases in North Country schools are starting to slow as districts are halfway through February. This is following a significant rise in cases in the month of January following the holiday vacation. There have also been recent disputes on the State's mask mandate in schools. Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State officials are set to reassess the mandates in early March.
Below is a breakdown, by county, of cases confirmed between February 7 and February 14. There is also a total number of cases reported to NYDOH since the start of the 2021-2022 school year. All figures are compared to the state's previous report as of February 7.
Jefferson County
| School District | New student cases | Student cases to-date | New teacher/staff cases | Teacher/staff cases to-date | Total |
| Alexandria | 0 | 30 | 1 | 19 | 49 |
| Belleville Henderson | 1 | 94 | 1 | 34 | 128 |
| Carthage | 26 | 427 | 7 | 177 | 604 |
| General Brown | 5 | 296 | 2 | 47 | 343 |
| Indian River | 31 | 730 | 6 | 111 | 830 |
| LaFargeville | 3 | 89 | 1 | 20 | 109 |
| Lyme | 0 | 91 | 0 | 9 | 100 |
| Sackets Harbor | 5 | 83 | 0 | 17 | 100 |
| South Jefferson | 17 | 477 | 2 | 103 | 580 |
| Thousand Islands | 12 | 153 | 3 | 35 | 188 |
| Watertown | 35 | 1,185 | 1 | 251 | 1,436 |
Lewis County
| School District | New student cases | Student cases to-date | New teacher/staff cases | Teacher/staff cases to-date | Total |
| Beaver River | 1 | 117 | 1 | 49 | 166 |
| Copenhagen | 8 | 99 | 1 | 33 | 132 |
| Harrisville | 0 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| Lowville | 6 | 347 | 0 | 58 | 405 |
| South Lewis | 5 | 205 | 4 | 53 | 258 |
St. Lawrence County
| School District | New student cases | Student cases to-date | New teacher/staff cases | Teacher/staff cases to-date | Total |
| Brasher Falls | 12 | 250 | 3 | 58 | 308 |
| Canton | 12 | 270 | 1 | 32 | 302 |
| Clifton-Fine | 3 | 35 | 3 | 20 | 55 |
| Colton-Pierrepont | 15 | 119 | 2 | 17 | 136 |
| Edwards-Knox | 5 | 127 | 2 | 42 | 169 |
| Gouverneur | 25 | 429 | 2 | 99 | 528 |
| Hammond | 2 | 37 | 0 | 11 | 48 |
| Hermon-Dekalb | 5 | 98 | 0 | 28 | 126 |
| Heuvelton | 5 | 77 | 1 | 25 | 102 |
| Lisbon | 0 | 67 | 0 | 11 | 78 *last reported on 1/28/22* |
| Madrid-Waddington | 14 | 232 | 0 | 33 | 265 |
| Massena | 41 | 611 | 6 | 104 | 715 |
| Morristown | 2 | 66 | 1 | 19 | 86 |
| Norwood-Norfolk | 24 | 263 | 4 | 65 | 328 |
| Ogdensburg | 12 | 269 | 4 | 74 | 343 |
| Parishville-Hopkinton | 7 | 75 | 1 | 31 | 106 |
| Potsdam | 14 | 193 | 2 | 70 | 263 |
Following the holiday break in early January 2022, New York began plans to keep schools in person as COVID-19 cases spiked statewide. This included the distribution of COVID-19 testing kits and the implementation of "Test-to-Stay" protocols.
Beginning September 13, all schools in New York were required to report COVID-19 cases to the Department of Health on a daily basis. Following the start to this requirement, the DOH relaunched its COVID tracking website, as it was previously undergoing maintenance.