Sent via SchoolMessenger on January 19, 2022
The Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH) recently sent school districts revised guidance regarding COVID-19 quarantine and isolation protocols and contact tracing requirements to local school districts. According to this revised guidance issued by RCDOH:
For individuals who test positive for COVID-19 (Isolation):
- Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, is permitted to return to school and extracurriculars–wearing a well-fitted mask–after isolating for five days if they are asymptomatic at the end of five days or if symptoms are improving. Individuals must be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications before returning to school.
For individuals exposed to COVID-19 (Quarantine):
- If boosted and asymptomatic: No quarantine required.
- If completed primary vaccine series at least 6 months ago, have not boosted, are 12 years of age and older and asymptomatic: May attend classes only for Days 1-5 and may return to extracurricular activities or athletics on Day 6. These individuals are otherwise required to follow RCDOH quarantine guidelines.
- If ages 5-11, fully vaccinated and asymptomatic: No quarantine required.
- If tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days and asymptomatic: Not required to quarantine, regardless of vaccination status, unless they become symptomatic. Documentation must be submitted to your child’s school nurse.
- If unvaccinated or undervaccinated and asymptomatic: Quarantine is required for 5 days. However, starting February 1, parents may opt their children into the District’s RCDOH-approved Test to Stay plan. This will allows unvaccinated or undervaccinated students who were exposed to COVID-19 at school to attend classes in person, but not extracurricular activities or athletics. To be eligible, students must have been exposed to COVID-19 at school, be symptom free, test negative when tested during the testing cadence timeframe and have parental consent to undergo testing at school. Families will be provided with TTS information when contacted for contact tracing purposes starting February 1.
Although we have received a high number of positive COVID-19 case reports over the past few weeks, the majority of the reported cases have not required contact tracing because individuals were not in school during their exposure periods. Keeping children who are symptomatic home has helped to minimize the impact of the regional surge on our school community–THANK YOU!
To sustain this momentum, our District plans to distribute COVID-19 home testing kits to families prior to our Mid-Winter Recess (February 21-25) so that they may test their children at home prior to returning to school on February 28. Participation will be optional, although all families are encouraged to take part. Information regarding how to register for kit pick up will be shared in early February.
Once again, thank you for your continued support and partnership.