QUARANTINE QUESTIONS
Under what circumstances are staff and students required to stay home?
Staff and students with COVID symptoms, exposure, or positive cases are required to quarantine.
When are staff and students expected to stay home?
County guidance has recently shifted their language from “required” to “recommended” with regard to quarantine after travel or any social mixing. While the language has changed, RUSD still expects families to follow the county recommendation.
Does the length of quarantine change based upon circumstances (e.g., travel vs exposure vs symptoms vs positive case)?
There are two exceptions, but in most cases quarantine should continue for 10 days (7 days, with a negative COVID test taken 5 or more days after exposure, travel, gathering, etc.). An exception is made for children with less common COVID symptoms (like body aches, fatigue, and congestion) who may return 24 hours after symptoms resolve. Another exception is quarantine for people with active COVID cases, which may be extended longer than 10 days, if symptoms continue.
Does the testing timeline and type really matter?
Yes. In order to shorten the duration of a quarantine, the test is only valid if taken 5 days after last date of exposure, contact, mixing, travel, etc., because the virus may not be detected prior to that time. It is also important that the test is a PCR nasal swab test (the T-PCR rapid saliva test is not acceptable proof).
