Berkley School District issued the following announcement on Jan 3.
Good afternoon, Berkley Schools Community,
First, I hope you enjoyed a relaxing and healthy Winter Break. Before students return on Monday, January 3rd, I wanted to share some recently updated recommendations for quarantine, testing protocols, and masking from both Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) as well as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. We are aware that the CDC updated its guidelines for isolation for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. At this time, we are reviewing those guidelines with OCHD and will update you if we decide a change is necessary. For tomorrow, we are not requiring a negative test for students to return, however, we hope anyone who is not feeling well will stay home and get tested for COVID-19.
As a District, we have adopted the following guidelines that will be followed for anyone identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Students and staff should be monitoring for symptoms daily and stay home if new symptoms begin. Our goal is to limit the disruptions to our students' learning and we all need to do our part in keeping each other safe and healthy. We also put these quarantine guidelines into a simple to use infographic for you to reference. As a reminder, being fully vaccinated means it is at least two weeks after your final vaccine dose.
Positive Cases - Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Students/Staff
Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will need to isolate themselves at home for 10 days from when symptoms began. If the person has no symptoms, it’s a 10 day isolation from when they received a positive test. Students can return after 10 days if they have no symptoms and are fever free; or, are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications and improved symptoms.
Quarantine Guidelines for Close Contacts - Unvaccinated Students/Staff
Unvaccinated & Masked: If both the COVID-19 positive and exposed persons were wearing masks
- 0-3 feet apart during exposure: Three options to consider if an exposed person falls into this category.
- Quarantine for 10 days
- Quarantine at home, take a COVID-19 test on day 7 and return on day 8 if negative
- Test daily for 7 days in a row at the Administrative Offices, and attend school daily with a negative test
- 0-6 feet apart during exposure: Mandatory quarantine. Two options to consider if an exposed person falls into this category.
- After 7 days, exposed persons who are symptom free may return to school if they show a negative test on day 7 to return on day 8
- After 10 days, students may return if they are symptom free without testing
If fully vaccinated persons (two weeks after final vaccine dose) are exposed to a COVID-19 positive person, there are two options to consider if an exposed person falls into this category.
- Non-Household Contacts: There is no quarantine or notification necessary from the District
- Household Contacts: Anyone exposed to COVID-19 in their household, who is also vaccinated, can choose from the following:
- Test daily for 7 days from last day of exposure, and attend school the same day with a negative test
- Follow a mandatory quarantine at home for 10 days from the last exposure, and test on day 7 to return on day 8
All household contacts are recommended to be excluded from work or school while test results are pending for a household member. If test results are positive or if the symptomatic person does not get tested, unvaccinated household contacts are required to quarantine for 10 days from last known exposure. Vaccinated household contacts will follow the guidelines above - test daily for seven days and attend school the same day with a negative test, or test on day 7 to return on day 8.
School Notification
It is very important for all families to notify their school if their child was considered a close contact at an outside of school activity. The guidelines above also apply to exposure outside of the school buildings. If you believe your child was a close contact to someone who is COVID-19 positive, call your school office to determine next steps.
COVID-19 Testing for Close Contacts
The Berkley School District hosts its own testing clinic at the Administrative Offices from 7:15-8 am, Monday - Friday. If you receive communication from our school nurses that testing is an option for your child, you may take advantage of the District’s clinic.
Masks
Masks will continue to be required and available to anyone who needs one, and we are in the process of ordering kn95 masks for students.
If you are looking to have your child receive the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the Oakland County Health Division’s website to find a location.
If you would like to see the cumulative COVID-19 positive numbers in the Berkley School District, you can view those on the District’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
Wishing you all well,
Scott Francis
Superintendent
Berkley School District
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