We’ve been receiving questions from school leaders on whether testing on Day 3, 4, or 5 is a requirement or a recommendation when using group tracing.

 

The group tracing guidance states, “Exposed students who participate in testing may continue to take part in all aspects of K-12 schooling, including sports and extracurricular activities, unless they develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.” The county’s interpretation is that by extension, students who do not participate in testing may not continue to take part in all aspects of K-12 schooling.

While the county understands testing on Day 3, 4, or 5 to be a requirement, it also agrees that schools are not required to track test results from all exposed students, and that schools can rely on parents to notify them of positive test results.

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is working with the county staff to obtain clarification from the California Department of Public Health on this issue.

Several changes have been made to the COVID-19 Decision Trees since they were last shared on Friday, most notably the order and language included in the "Test Types By Situation" box on page 4. To assist individuals in identifying recent changes, an ongoing list is maintained on the SDCOE COVID-19 website. Both the Spanish version and electronic decision trees have been updated to reflect the recent changes. 

Now that mask distribution is underway, information in this memo may be helpful if you receive questions about the need for upgraded masks. Specifically, county medical experts are recommending that students wear an N95 mask, a three-ply surgical mask with a nose wire, or a cloth face covering along with a surgical mask to protect against the highly transmissible omicron variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently updated its consumer mask guidance to emphasize protection, fit, and comfort, and provides guidance on mask types and how to wear them properly. 

To help communicate with families about mask distribution at your site, the SDCOE Communications team has prepared this template parent letter in both English and Spanish.

As a reminder, SDCOE has only received approximately 25% of the total county allocation from the state and includes only adult-sized masks that are for students in grades 7-12 as well as school employees. We are expecting another delivery of small surgical masks, but have not received a delivery date from the state. We will provide details as soon as we have them. 

email: paul.gothold@sdcoe.net