If a student or employee is identified as a close contact at school, are they permitted to quarantine at home?
Yes. A parent/guardian may turn in a written excuse to the building secretary; these excuses would count towards the ten (10) total parent/guardian excused absences that students are permitted to utilize each year. A parent/guardian may also seek documentation from a medical provider that states that the student is required to quarantine. These absences would then be medically excused.
Keystone Oaks employees who are identified as a close contact at school are permitted to quarantine if they choose to do so. The employee should submit their absences through the AESOP management system and would be required to use their own sick/personal days.
How does the District calculate quarantine timelines?
Following the CDC’s most recent quarantine and isolation guidelines, any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 should isolate for five (5) days. The date that symptoms began or the date that the individual was tested (for those who are asymptomatic) is Day 0.
For example, for positive individuals:
Symptoms Began: February 1 (Day 0)
Isolation Timeline: February 2 through February 6 (Days 1-5)
Return to School/Work: February 7, as long as the individual has been fever-free for 24 hours and other symptoms have improved (Day 6)
Strictly Mask: Through February 11 (Day 10)
Unvaccinated individuals who are identified as a close contact to an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 should quarantine for five (5) days. The last date of contact with the positive individual is Day 0.
For example, for unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19:
Date of Exposure to Positive Individual: February 1 (Day 0)
Quarantine Timeline: February 2 through February 6 (Days 1-5). A PCR or rapid antigen test administered at a medical facility is recommended on Day 5.
Return to School/Work: February 7, as long as the individual has not developed any symptoms.
Strictly Mask: Through February 11 (Day 10)
If an unvaccinated student or employee lives with an individual who tests positive for COVID-19, the positive individual should isolate themselves from others in the household, using a separate bedroom and bathroom for five (5) days. If the positive individual cannot isolate, then the quarantine timeline for unvaccinated household members does not begin until the end of the quarantine period for the positive individual.
For example: for unvaccinated individuals who live with a positive individual who cannot isolate:
Symptoms Began for Positive Individual: February 1 (Day 0)
Quarantine/Isolation Timeline: February 2 through February 6 (Days 1-5)
Isolation Ends: February 7, as long as the positive individual is fever-free for 24 hours and other symptoms have improved.
Strictly Mask: Through February 11 (Day 10)
Date of Exposure for Unvaccinated Individual: February 6 (Day 0)
Quarantine Timeline: February 7 through February 11 (Days 1-5)
Return to School/Work: February 12, as long as the individual has not developed any symptoms.
Strictly Mask: Through February 16 (Day 10)
If a student or staff member is in quarantine and begins to develop symptoms, how is the timeline calculated?
If a student or employee is in quarantine and begins to develop symptoms, the five day quarantine timeline would re-start. The day that symptoms develop is Day 0.
If a student is still exhibiting symptoms after Day 5, will their absences continue to be marked as medically excused?
Yes. A parent/guardian must send proof of a positive COVID-19 test result to the building secretary so that absences can be documented accordingly. Students who test positive for COVID-19 and who are still exhibiting symptoms after Day 5 should stay home until symptoms have improved and the student has been fever-free for 24 hours.
What does it mean to be a “close contact”?
In a public setting, a close contact is an individual who was within six feet of an infected person for 15 consecutive minutes or more in an indoor setting with or without a mask.
In the K-12 setting, a close contact is an individual who:
Was less than 3 feet from an infected person for 15 minutes or more in an indoor setting, with or without a mask.
Was between 3 and 6 feet from an infected person for 15 minutes or more in an indoor setting if masks were not worn or were not worn correctly.
What does “Strictly Mask” mean?
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or who must quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 may end their isolation or quarantine period after Day 5. Between Day 6 and Day 10, these individuals should strictly wear a face mask around others. In the school setting, a few examples include, but are not limited to:
Student athletes must wear a mask at all times, including during practices and games (except for swimming and diving, where students do not have to wear a mask in the pool, but must stay masked at all other times).
A student’s lunch location may be altered to allow for additional spacing during this time of the day when the student is unmasked.
A student may not be able to participate in mask breaks, unless spacing of at least six feet can be accommodated and maintained.
Employees should refrain from eating lunch with others and should keep their mask on at all times when they are within six feet of other individuals.