BVR Community Health Update
01.22.21
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EMAIL
  • There is an important change (yet again!) to our quarantine policy for close contacts. The Brookline Department of Public Health is mandating all schools in Brookline—public and private—align with the town's policy of a 14-day quarantine for close contacts, regardless of a negative test result.

  • We have started the testing of our faculty and staff. Faculty and staff will be tested two times a month, on campus by PhysicianOne, who partners with The Broad Institute.


  • Beaver air quality continues to exceed standards. Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. conducted a mid-year ventilation study and found that our building continues to exceed air ventilation standards.
Overall Health of the BVR Community
Total cases overall since the start of school
23 positive cases
(15 students, 8 adults)
Total cases since the last update on January 8
2*
*The cases are (1) a MS student, which we communicated about on January 14, and (2) an employee who was not on campus, and therefore, we did not need to contact trace.
Total number of BVR community reported negative results—this includes school-directed and volunteered tests
1083

Please continue to share all instances and results of COVID testing with the School Nurse at tossowski@bcdschool.org.
As cases continue to rise in the Commonwealth and at Beaver, please continue adhering to the big 3 (mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing) and limiting unnecessary social gatherings—both on and off campus.

Partnership and communication are critical during this time. Thank you for your commitment to keeping us informed and our community healthy.
Quarantine Policy Update
(As mandated by the Brookline Department of Health)
🏛
Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in the area, the Brookline Department of Public Health re-reviewed our Healthy Policies, Practices, and Protocols document earlier this month, and they have mandated we align with the town's policy of a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all close contacts.

This means, if a Beaver individual is identified as a close contact because of exposure to a COVID-19 positive individual, they are required to quarantine for 14 days—regardless of a negative test result. All test results will need to be shared with the School Nurse, Talia Ossowski via screenshot, prior to a student or adult being able to return to campus.

Note: We shifted our definition of close contact on January 19. You can review the change in the last Community Health Update.
Faculty and Staff Testing
As we shared in previous Community Health Updates and starting this week, we are testing faculty and staff bi-monthly on-campus through PhysicianOne, who partners with The Broad Institute. The turnaround time for these tests is much quicker than the Vault tests our faculty and staff have been doing after breaks, and faculty and staff will not be remote while awaiting results.

What testing will do
The results from these tests will provide us important data on the health of our adult community in the winter months. It will also help us detect asymptomatic cases amongst our employees. This information will provide a barometer for how our community is doing, and it will help us determine if we need to make adjustments to our practices and protocols.

What testing won't do
Although it serves as a barometer, testing faculty and staff does not guarantee we will be able to catch all cases of COVID-19. Therefore, our top priority continues to be staying vigilant and adhering to the "Big 3" on and off campus.
BVR Air Quality Continues to Exceed Standards
Since the summer, we've been working with Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc (EH&E) on the health and safety of our building. They recently conducted a mid-year ventilation study and found that the Beaver building continues to exceed air ventilation standards—even when the windows are closed and our additional air cleaners are turned off. In other words, our airflow is in great shape! We will continue working with EH&E and we will share any additional updates.
Resources & Guides
Click here for the most up-to-date information on the MA vaccine timeline.
If you're looking to get tested, visit the COVID-19 Test Site Locator or the Stop the Spread website. You can also check out at-home testing: Pixel by LabCorp and Vault Health. Additional sites can be found on our MS and US FAQ pages.
We will continue to have windows open as part of our safety practices. Please remind kids to dress warmly.
We're all in this together!

Wear A Mask. Wash Your Hands. Social Distance.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our community safe.