Dear 1st-grade families:
We are writing to inform you that a member of the 1st-grade community has tested positive for Covid-19 and was last in school on Monday, March 22nd. On Tuesday 23rd the rapid test taken was negative and on Thursday 25th the PCR result came back positive.
The School is currently implementing its COVID-19 Action Plan: implementing track and trace procedures, whilst taking advice from the Ulster County Department of Health. (UCDOH) You should be contacted by the DOH within the next few days.
In the meantime, it is of utmost importance that starting today your 1st Grade child, siblings, and family quarantine at home and stay away from others for 10 days.
The NYSDOH Health Advisory requires contacts to self-quarantine for 10 days and to self-monitor symptoms for days 11-14. Contacts will be instructed to self-isolate should symptoms appear.
We urge you to get your 1st grader and entire family tested with a PCR test TODAY. Rapid tests are not acceptable as they often show false-negative results. It is possible we are dealing with a new, very contagious variant since it spread so rapidly through the school.
Quarantine & Isolation:
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If your child develops symptoms or tests positive they need to be ISOLATED from other household members. Covid symptoms can be extremely mild.
- Quarantine and isolation - needs to be in-house - all positive children or parents, need to be isolated from other household members and from each other
- COVID is still absolutely transmissible outdoors, even with masks on.
- If you have close contact with the infected individual again while they are still in isolation, your 10-day quarantine period will have to restart from the last day that you had close contact.
- If you cannot avoid close contact, your last day of quarantine is 10 days from the date that the person with COVID-19 isolation ends.
Without adequately quarantining the negative sibling and other negative family members, there will likely be more outbreaks in our school community.
Is my child considered a close contact?
Yes. The UCDOH considers your 1st-grade student a "Contact A"
A person is considered a close contact if they have had contact with the covid positive individual during their infectious period (two days prior to symptom onset or two days prior to test date if asymptomatic), meaning persons that were within six feet for ten minutes or more cumulatively over a 24-hour period. It is still considered close contact if masks are worn.
Do my child's siblings need to quarantine?
YES. Highly recommended, given the speed of infection spread within our school community.
Do we, as parents, need to quarantine?
YES. for the same reason above.
Can I quarantine with others from the same class cohort?
Absolutely Not! It would be practical and convenient but it is HIGH RISK as it will super spread infection in your own cohort which, in addition to putting all families at greater risk, will extend everybody’s quarantine time.
Has the Department of Health been informed?
Yes. The DOH is aware of the community member who has tested positive. We are providing the DOH with a list of students and teachers in the class who need to quarantine. They will follow up with you directly as part of their contact tracing practice.
Is it possible for the infected community member to test out of quarantine?
No. The individual must quarantine for the entire 10 days. with or without symptoms. There is no 7-day test-out option for ending quarantine.
What about the other teachers?
All teachers who have been in contact with the infected individual must quarantine for 10 days. The same rules apply to both students and teachers.
If your child displays any symptoms or tests positive for Covid-19, please let us know immediately.
If you do not hear from the Department of Health within the next couple of days please let us know.
Holding our dear first-grade families in our hearts as this impacts their plans for the Spring Break and hoping everyone continues to be in good health, despite positive covid tests.
Sincerely,
Administration
