Referred to: The Public Health and Social Services Committee (Chairman Lopez and Legislators Bruno, Criswell, Petit, and Uchitelle)

Chairman of the Public Health and Social Services Committee, Craig V. Lopez, and Deputy Chair Peter J. Criswell offer the following:

WHEREAS, this resolution has been submitted by the County Executive on behalf of the Department of Health; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Health requests that the Chair of the Ulster County Legislature be authorized to execute a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with various Ulster County school districts for the sharing of Abbott BinaxNOW^TM test kits for the COVID-19 virus; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health is certified by New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) as a Limited Service Laboratory (LSL), and as such, may perform and distribute the Rapid Test Kits to eligible school medical personnel as partners in the strategy to deploy free of charge rapid testing to the public, with a focus on vulnerable and at-risk populations that may not currently have equitable access to testing; and

WHEREAS, the Department, as a Local Health Department, is required to allow schools to conduct testing under its LSL certification for the purposes of conducting required weekly testing of students, teachers, and staff; now, therefore be it 

RESOLVED, that the Chair of the Ulster County Legislature is authorized to execute an MOA with various Ulster County school districts for sharing of the Abbott BinaxNOW^TM test kits for the COVID-19 virus, in the form as filed with the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature, or as modified with the approval of the County Attorney,

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES:                       NOES:   

Passed Committee: Public Health and Social Services on ______________.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

NONE