My hope is to not email you every Sunday, however, this afternoon I was notified of another positive case in our community. An Upper School student at Beaver has received a positive COVID-19 test.

As a reminder, the CDC definition of close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

In alignment with our prevention strategies, we expect that all of the individuals who have been identified as potential close contacts were likely 6’ distanced for all or most of that time, and they were likely wearing masks for all or most of that time. That said, we are following Massachusetts Quarantine and Isolation Procedures for Schools for when someone comes into contact with an individual who has tested positive. More information can be found in our Policies, Practices, and Protocols Resource on our website.

The student who tested positive is under quarantine and will not return until they are cleared to do so. As we have communicated, when a student or employee tests positive: they must remain home (except to get medical care), monitor symptoms, notify personal close contacts, assist the school in contact tracing efforts, and answer the call from the local board of health or MA Community Tracing Collaborative. 

Specifically, all close contacts should be tested and must self-quarantine for 14 days following the last exposure (count that day as day zero) to the person who tested positive. Based on these guidelines, even if an individual identified as a close contact receives a negative test result, they must continue to self-quarantine for the full 14 days as the virus may take up to 14 days to cause illness.

To reiterate, you are receiving this communication for informational purposes. If you have not received a previous email from the school today, you/your student are not in the group that will need to follow protocols in place for close contacts.

We all can play our part by consciously continuing our prevention strategies; the “big 3”: Mask-wearing, physical distancing, and hand hygiene are essential. Additionally, we all need to commit to completing the daily attestation to help screen for symptoms each day. Here is a resource about health office protocols for your reference.