11/20/2020 TRAVEL ADVISORYThe CDC strongly recommends that Americans refrain from traveling for Thanksgiving this year due to the pandemic. Please be advised that if you are planning to travel for the holiday, that all states as of November 21st, 2020 are considered high risk states for travel with the exception of Hawaii and Vermont. Maine and New Hampshire will be added to the list of high risk states effective at 12:01am 11/21/20. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SCHOOLYou must quarantine upon return to MA for 14 days if you have traveled to a high risk state. You may test out of quarantine by getting a COVID-19 test and provide proof of a negative result within 72 hours of returning. *Children under 10 years of age do not need to be tested upon return from travel, but must stay home from school until their parents negative (PCR) COVID test results are in.
11/13/2020 Travel Guidelines During a Pandemic
11/12/2020 Close Contacts and Isolation vs QuarantineCOVID Update from the WPS Nurses: We want to share some clarifying information with all of you about isolation, quarantine and close contacts. When a symptomatic individual tests positive for COVID, they are put into isolation for 10 days from symptom onset. Isolation means they should be in their own room, with their own bathroom and should have meals delivered to them. As long as they are fever free and have an improvement in their other symptoms, they are considered recovered from COVID after the 10 days. If an individual is asymptomatic and tests positive, they are in isolation for 10 days from the positive test case. The following excerpt from a CDC link explains why an individual does not need a negative test to come out of isolation: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/duration-isolation.html Quarantine is the term used for individuals who have been identified as a close contact to a positive COVID case. Per CDC and Mass Dept of Public Health (MDPH) regulations, close contacts need to quarantine for 14 days following their last exposure to the individual who tests positive for COVID. (Day one of quarantine is the day after the exposure.) Close contacts also should be tested. Even if their test results are negative, they cannot come out of quarantine early. Those in quarantine can move about their homes freely, but should not go near anyone outside of their homes. If their test comes back positive-their status would change from quarantine to isolation and they would follow the protocol outlined above. Close contacts are all household members of a positive COVID case. Close contact is defined by CDC as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic clients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. Contacts of contacts do not need to quarantine, but all contacts should continue to closely monitor for symptoms. This is the reason we have worked hard to have desks 6 feet apart, so as to minimize the need to quarantine classmates even if someone who has been at school becomes symptomatic. If your child has not been contacted by the health department, they are not considered a close contact. The Westford Health Department has been collaborating with the school nurses and sharing information about students or family members in the school system who are under quarantine and isolation. They are tasked with identifying close contacts, giving isolation and quarantine instructions and releasing these individuals from isolation and quarantine. If you or your family member does test positive for COVID, please reach out to the school nurse at your child’s school for any individual questions or concerns. |