In last week’s Principal’s Letter, 1/6/22, we shared the latest CDC guidelines for isolation and quarantine in K-12 school settings. If you did not get the chance to familiarize yourself with the new guidelines, we encourage you to do so now. St. John School is following these recommendations.
Students, teachers, and staff who come into close contact with someone with COVID-19 need to quarantine for at least 5 days after their last close contact if they are in any one of the following groups:
- Ages 18 or older and completed the primary series of recommended vaccine, but have not received a recommended booster shot when eligible.
- They received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine (completing the primary series) over 2 months ago and have not received a recommended booster shot.
- They are not vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series.
Students, teachers, and staff who come into close contact with someone with COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they are in any one of the following groups:
- Ages 18 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.
- Ages 5-17 years and completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.
- Had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days.
Isolation All people with COVID-19 (with or without symptoms) need to isolate for at least 5 days.
For students, teachers, and staff who test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms:
- Isolate for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the day of the positive COVID-19 test and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for the positive test.
- If they continue to have no symptoms, they can end isolation after at least 5 days, but must continue to wear a mask for an additional 5 days. This applies to anyone with COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status.
- If they develop symptoms after testing positive, the 5-day isolation period should start over. Day 0 is the first day of symptoms.
For students teachers and staff who have COVID-19 and have or had symptoms:
- They can end isolation after 5 days if they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms have improved. Day 0 is the day of the positive COVID-19 test and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for the positive test.
- If the person meets these criteria, they can return to school after 5 days of isolation, but must continue to wear a mask for an additional 5 days. This applies to anyone with COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status.
- If they continue to have a fever or other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, they should wait to end isolation until they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms have improved.
