As we’ve stated for the last couple of weeks, recommendations and guidelines about the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are always evolving. As we continue to learn more about COVID-19, SPPS will also need to make adjustments.
Please review and apply the following updates:
Patients with confirmed COVID-19 show mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some patients have shown symptoms including muscle aches, headache, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
Due to a national shortage of COVID-19 testing supplies, MDH is prioritizing testing for healthcare workers and people who are hospitalized. People who do not have symptoms should not be tested for COVID-19.
Because not all sick people will be tested, patients who have unexplained fever and/or cough or shortness of breath, are being told to self-quarantine for 7 days after the onset of illness, or 72 hours after their fever has resolved without taking fever-reducing medication, whichever is longer, and show improvement of respiratory symptoms. The recommendation is to isolate themselves from household contacts and limit public activities for 14 days.
If public health officials identify a staff member or student within SPPS as a confirmed case of COVID-19, they will reach out to Student Health and Wellness to provide information and guidance on notification procedures and other infection prevention actions.
What you need to do:
If you learn of an employee or student who has a
confirmed case of COVID-19 or was told to self-quarantine based on their symptoms
, with or without lab confirmation:
- Notify Student Health and Wellness via email at student.wellness@spps.org.
- Provide the name of the person, identify if they are a student or staff member and provide their contact information.
- Student Health and Wellness will follow up with the individual as we may learn of these cases before we receive notification from MDH. If that happens, we will seek guidance from MDH for notifications and other infection prevention actions.
- You do not need to report other known cases in the community.
If you learn of an employee or student that was
exposed to someone with a
confirmed case or COVID-19 like symptoms
with or without lab confirmation:
- Recommend that they reach out to their healthcare provider.
- We DO NOT need to send them home and we DO NOT need to send notifications out.
- They can continue to work and participate in programming and should monitor themselves for any symptoms.
- If at any point, they show signs of illness, they should stay home and contact their healthcare provider for further recommendations.
If an employee or student is sick with non-COVID-19 like symptoms, they should be encouraged to stay home until they are symptom free for 24 hours.
Please encourage and model the practice of staying home if you are sick, washing your hands frequently with soap and water and covering your cough. Along with social distancing efforts, these continue to be the best
strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19
.
We understand this is a stressful time for everyone.
Be a calm presence for your staff and families and please use the updated guidelines above to determine any course of action needed.
If you have additional questions, please contact the MDH Hotline at 651-201-3920.
If you are still uncertain what to do after reading these updates, please reach out to Mary Langworthy, Supervisor of Student Health and Wellness, via email or phone: 651-767-8380.
