Revised Quarantine and Isolation Guidelines - January 12, 2022

Dear KLSD Community,

As noted in last night’s email, based on new information from NYS DOH and Westchester County DOH, we can now bring exposed and/or COVID positive students and staff back to school on a reduced quarantine/isolation timeline, so long as they are asymptomatic.

Today, our schools have communicated with those families immediately impacted. The purpose of this letter is to share the specific new guidelines with all families for future reference. As always, these guidelines are subject to change as we receive new information.

The following comes from WC DOH and applies to students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19:

Students, teachers, and staff who test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms should isolate for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the day of the positive viral test (based on the date of testing) and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for the positive test.

  • If they continue to have no symptoms, they can end isolation after at least 5 days.
  • They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10 (day 6 through day 10). If they are unable to wear a mask when around others, they should continue to isolate for 10 days.
  • If they develop symptoms after testing positive, the 5-day isolation period should start over. Day 0 is the first day of symptoms. Follow the recommendations above for ending isolation for people who had COVID-19 and had symptoms.

People who have COVID-19 and have or had symptoms should isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate the 5-day isolation period, day 0 is the first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after their symptoms developed.

  • They can end isolation after 5 full days if they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms have improved (loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation).
  • They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 additional days (day 6 through day 10) after the end of their 5-day isolation period. If they are unable to wear a mask when around others, they should continue to isolate for 10 days.
  • If they continue to have fever or other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, they should wait to end isolation until they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever- reducing medication and their other symptoms have improved. They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask and contact their healthcare provider with questions.

The following comes from NYS DOH and applies to students and staff who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, but have not themselves tested positive:

  • All fully vaccinated* individuals (students, teachers, and staff), who have been exposed to an individual with COVID-19 may continue to attend or work at school, regardless of booster status, so long as they remain asymptomatic.

*Fully vaccinated is defined as two weeks after the receipt of either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson and Johnson vaccine or full course of any other recognized vaccine.

  • Students, teachers, and staff who are not vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series who came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for at least 5 days (day 0 through day 5) after their last close contact. So long as they remain asymptomatic, they may return to school after the completion of the quarantine period.

As always, we ask any student or staff member who is not feeling well and/or exhibiting symptoms to please stay home.

If and when we receive more information related to contact tracing, or any other updates, we will share them with you.

Sincerely,

Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools