St. Christopher – St. Margaret Mary Parish
130 Midland Ave. S.I.N.Y 10306 ● 718-351-2452 ● [email protected] ●  www.scsmmsi.org
December 27, 2021
Dear Parishioners,
The health and safety of the parish staff and community is our top priority.  I am writing to inform you that a member of the clergy self-reported a positive test result for COVID-19 on Sunday, December 26, 2021.  The last day of exposure at the parish was at the 7:30 pm Mass on Saturday December 25^th. CDC advises that any symptoms of Coronavirus appear between 2 and 14 days from the date of exposure.  We are handling this situation with the utmost seriousness.  It is important to listen to facts and not respond to fear or rumor.  We would encourage you to visit the CDC website www.CDC.Gov for additional factual information.
The NYS Department of Health has advised that only those unvaccinated individuals who were in “close contact” with the infected persons are required to quarantine.  Individuals who were in close contact are persons who were within 6 feet of the infected person for 10 minutes or more.  The parish will contact those individuals who have been identified as potentially being in close contact with the infected individual to alert them to the situation.  The NYC Health Department will then contact these individuals to initiate contact tracing, if necessary.

CDC advises that only unvaccinated individuals who come in close contact with an infected person are required to quarantine for 10 days.  If someone is vaccinated and comes in close contact with an infected person, the vaccinated person does NOT need to quarantine.

The NYC Health Department has advised that reception of Holy Communion at Mass is not considered “close contact” and therefore does not require the recipient to quarantine.

The parish has followed protocols from the CDC and NYS DoH and has cleaned and sanitized the church and parish office following CDC guidelines using approved disinfectants.

If you attended the 7:30 pm Mass on December 25^th at St. Christopher and develop COVID-19 symptoms you should call your medical professional or ArchCare Hotline personnel at 877-239-1998 who will answer your questions or route you to someone who can.  They can also provide information about obtaining COVID testing.

The NYS Department of Health has set up a hotline at 888-364-3065 and additional information can be obtained at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid-19-main.page.
Please know that safety and well-being are our primary concern as we pray for everyone who has been affected by this virus.