Dear Orange Families,
As we prepare for a great school year ahead, I wanted to take a moment to review the protocols for quarantine and isolation when positive COVID-19 cases arise. When an individual tests positive for COVID-19, they are expected to isolate in their home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms. If an asymptomatic person tests positive, then the 10 day isolation begins on the day of the positive result. After the isolation period, if the person is fever free for 24 hours and has improving symptoms, then they can resume attending school and other activities if cleared by their healthcare provider.
Individuals who are considered close contacts (spent a cumulative 15 minutes within 6 feet of the individual in a 24 hour period) of a COVID-19 positive person may have to quarantine for a given period to make sure they do not transmit the virus to others.
- Close contacts who are vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to be quarantined, no matter where close contact occurred, as long as they do not develop symptoms.
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On the other hand, unvaccinated close contacts will need to be quarantined, unless the contact occurred in the classroom or on a bus where universal masking protocols are implemented and the infected individual was at least 3 feet away.
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Even when masked, unvaccinated close contacts who are closer than 3 feet for a cumulative 15 minutes in a 24 hour period on a bus or in the classroom will need to be quarantined.
- Unvaccinated close contacts under all other circumstances will need to be quarantined. This includes those in contact during lunch and after school activities, including athletics.
It is important that we come together as a school community to limit quarantine situations so we can preserve as much instructional time as possible since there is no remote option and we will not be video conferencing students from home into the classroom setting. Therefore, being careful outside of school, closely monitoring for symptoms and not attending school when symptoms arise, will help decrease risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19. While we will be implementing a shorter quarantine period this year, 7 days from the time of exposure with a negative test result on or after day 5, or 10 days for those who do not provide a negative test result, we should all still strive to limit the number of quarantined individuals. To do so, the key factors are masking and vaccination.
When masking is implemented in the classroom and on buses, exposed individuals stand a way better chance of not needing to quarantine. Even more so, vaccinated individuals who remain symptom free do not need to quarantine at all, eliminating loss of participation in events and classroom instruction, although testing is still recommended for vaccinated individuals on or after day 3 of the exposure to prevent asymptomatic transmission.
This past Friday, we were impacted by COVID-19 as Beachwood had to cancel our football game due to a COVID-19 exposure. In such a situation, if all involved individuals had been vaccinated, we may be able to avoid quarantine protocols or the resulting cancellation. A recent questionnaire revealed that 73% of OHS students and 75% of eligible BMS students (students ages 12 and over) were intended to be fully vaccinated before the start of school. In addition, over 80% of the teaching staff members reported being fully vaccinated. While these numbers are promising and above the average vaccination rates, it is important to note that as more vaccinations occur, there will be a lesser negative impact of COVID-19 transmission and related quarantine resulting in loss of participation and instruction.
To help expedite contact tracing in the event of a positive case, we are prepared to collect your student’s COVID-19 vaccination information. Please contact your school nurse to voluntarily submit a copy of your child’s vaccination card (or to update vaccination records) by emailing:
As part of the District COVID-19 Response Team, school nurses can also be contacted with general COVID-19 protocol questions. For OIP-related questions, Jill Cannata is to be contacted. For MHS students, please contact:
Thanks again for your ongoing support as we head into what some are calling the “next normal.” I look forward to a year of full-time, in-person learning, something we have learned not to take for granted.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lynn Campbell
Superintendent
Orange Schools
