Dec. 29, 2021 Fairfax County and FCPS Updates
Neighbors,

Apologies for interrupting your holiday season but I wanted to make sure I share the most recent COVID-19 info with you. New cases in our Health District continue to increase, including today's report of 2,213 daily new cases.
 
The good news is that if you are vaccinated and especially if you have received a booster, the effects of the virus appear to be much less serious. Our Health Director and County Executive told me this morning that our hospital and ICU capacity remain adequate, although stress on our healthcare workers remains very high. 
 
I am also hearing of many instances where people test positive but are not sick, and even more stories of exposure to the virus but testing negative (I am in that latter category). Below is helpful guidance from the Fairfax County Health Department on these and other scenarios based on the latest CDC recommendations.
 
Also included is the latest update from FCPS for students and parents/guardians.
 
Please stay safe and take the recommended precautions when you leave home. And join me in hoping for a happy and healthy new year. We are all due one of those!

Respectfully,
Walter
Update from Fairfax County Health Department
Following a review of scientific data on COVID-19 transmission and the impact of vaccination, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced updated quarantine and isolation recommendations on Dec. 27. In alignment with the CDC, the Fairfax County Health Department is updating its recommendations as follows:
If You Test Positive for COVID-19 (Isolate)
Everyone, regardless of vaccination status:
  • Day 1 to 5:
  • Stay home and away from others.
  • Day 6 to 10:
  • If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving, you can leave your house. Continue to wear a well-fitting mask to reduce any risk of infecting others.
  • If you have a fever, continue to stay home until 24 hours after your fever resolves.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19 (Quarantine)
If you have been boosted OR received your second dose (and an additional dose if immunocompromised) of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months OR received your first dose of J&J vaccine within the last two months:
  • Day 1 to 10
  • Wear a mask around others.
  • Test on day 5, if possible.
  • If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.
  • If you test positive for COVID-19 during this 10-day period, follow the isolation guidance above
If you received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines more than six months ago and are not boosted OR received one dose of the J&J vaccine more than two months ago and are not boosted OR are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated:
  • Day 1 to 5:
  • Stay home and away from others.
  • Test on day 5 if possible. If you test positive for COVID-19, follow the isolation guidance above.
  • Day 6 to 10:
  • Continue to wear a mask around others.
  • If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home. If you test positive for COVID-19, follow the isolation guidance above.

COVID-19 Prevention
With the emergence of more contagious variants, such as Omicron, and the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases, it is important that everyone adheres to the following public health prevention measures as best as they can to limit the spread of the virus in our community.
  • Get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you haven’t yet received any vaccination or are only partially vaccinated.
  • Get your booster dose if you’re age 16 years or older and received your initial mRNA vaccines more than 6 months ago or a Johnson and Johnson vaccine more than 2 months ago.
  • Wear a mask in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
  • Stay home when feeling ill.
  • Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
  • Wash your hands often, for at least 20 seconds.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes.

Resources:
  • If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccines, please call 703-324-7404. Call our Health Department Call Center at 703-267-3511 with Coronavirus questions. Both call centers are open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
  • Email questions or concerns to ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov. This email account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
Update from Fairfax County Public Schools
Diagnostic Testing Open for Students Dec. 30 and 31 to Prepare to Return to School
Holiday travel and gatherings, along with the more contagious Omicron variant, make testing even more important. FCPS will open its Gatehouse Administration Center drive-through diagnostic testing site early to help students and staff access testing before returning to school or work Jan. 3. This testing opportunity is available for symptomatic students and staff who want to check their status before returning to school. Scheduled appointments will not be available; however, you must register for an account in advance to be eligible for testing.

Students may access the Gatehouse Administration Center drive-through clinic from noon - 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 30, and Friday, December 31. If your child is not already registered in the online portal, please do so in advance. This process will automatically enter the child in their school’s optional screening testing. Parents/guardians must log in to the online portal after the diagnostic test is complete and withdraw their consent, to remove the child from the weekly screening testing pool. Please be aware that this diagnostic testing opportunity is limited to FCPS students, and students should come ready to share their FCPS student ID number.

Please do not enter the building. Testing will be done in our parking garage, and you must remain in your vehicle at all times. View information and schedules for our regular drive-through diagnostic testing, which starts Jan. 3, on our website.
 
If needed, other local providers are available for testing and vaccinations.

Optional Screening Testing will resume when schools reopen. Optional screening testing is a critical strategy to rapidly identify positive cases of COVID-19. Optional COVID-19 screening testing, with parent/guardian permission, will soon be expanded to include vaccinated students. Look for more information in next week’s FCPS This Week. For more information about FCPS’ optional screening testing program, visit our website
 
Introducing Test to Stay
FCPS has been accepted into a pilot program for Test to Stay run by the Virginia Department of Health. We will share more information in January as the Test to Stay program is implemented across the Commonwealth.
 
Updates to Quarantine Guidance
FCPS is aware of the recent CDC announcement that changes the recommended quarantine and isolation period from 10 days to five days. FCPS is working with the Fairfax County Health Department to determine how this impacts schools. For the time being, FCPS is continuing to follow existing guidelines regarding returning to school or work following an exposure. 
 
Athletics
Athletic practices and events will continue, following our existing vaccination and testing requirements. Please be aware that individual teams or events may need to be paused for the safety of all participants.
 
Transportation
FCPS is aware that we may continue to experience issues with staffing our school bus routes. Where possible, FCPS will try to alert families to bus issues the evening before. 
The goal remains to keep all schools open for in-person learning five days a week for the rest of the 2021-22 school year, and beyond. We know more and have more resources to keep schools open. If we all do our part to stay safe and healthy, we can keep our schools open.