The Louisiana Department of Health released school isolation/quarantine guidelines this week, ahead of students heading back to classes next month.
The guidance includes when a student or faculty member with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test may end self-isolation, detailed explanations of what it means to come in "close contact" with a confirmed case, and numerous example scenarios and recommendations for each.
A student/faculty member may end their self-isolation after at least 10 days since the onset of symptoms and at least 24 hours have passed with no fever. Other symptoms also must have improved.
LDH says that anyone who has been in close contact with a confirmed case or asymptomatic individual with a known exposure should quarantine for 14 days past their last exposure to the case.
Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes during their infectious period and/or if you had direct contact with the COVID case, you shared utensils, or they sneezed or coughed on you.
While face coverings should be worn in a school setting by staff and students in third grade and higher, the use of the coverings is not a factor in determining close contacts, LDH says.
Schools will work internally and with guidance from regional LDH offices to determine close contacts.
The guidance includes scenarios like:
- What if a teacher who teaches multiple classes is exposed and needs to quarantine? Do all the students they had contact with need to quarantine?
- When may a student/teacher who was exposed and in quarantine return to school?
- A student on a bus tests positive. Who is quarantined? Does the bus driver quarantine?
Recommendations will be updated as new information and recommendations are received. Find the full guidance from LDH HERE or read it below.
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