James Yastion is trying to roll with the disruptions. His son learned in a note from New Paltz school leaders early Wednesday morning his classes that day would be moved to remote because of a “COVID-related staffing shortage.”

At the same time, in response to the quick rise of the omicron variant, Ulster County officials requested a COVID-19 testing center at SUNY New Paltz.

County Executive Pat Ryan announced Wednesday the request had been granted, and the center will begin operating sometime next week.

Parents in the New Paltz school district said Wednesday they hoped the increased testing availability would help staff who are over the virus, but face delays in getting cleared to return to class.

“We’re hoping that with more tests now, that they’ll be able to get back to school and the teachers will be able to get back to teaching,” Yastion said.

Other parents, including Tom Aube, decided to keep their children home from school even before receiving staffing updates from the district. He expects staffing issues to continue, even with the addition of a new testing site.

Aube is hopeful about the bigger picture, though.

“We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and just hope for the best,” he said. “At this point, everyone needs to keep their hands together, COVID-friendly elbows, and just wish for the best. Omicron will be gone soon and the next will be on, but we will continue as humanity, right?”

The exact hours and an appointment system will be announced in the coming days, Ryan said.

He also extended the county’s ‘state of emergency’ until the end of this month, which should keep a small, yet steady stream of at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits coming to the county from the state.

In the last month, Ulster County has procured more than 50,000 rapid test kits, each containing two tests.