Pandemic Protocols

Close contacts of a person with COVID-19 or probable COVID-19 who was in the school building are identified by school administrators and the local health department for the purpose of making quarantine recommendations. These close contacts should not attend school, work in or visit a school building until completing quarantine per the following MDH guidance. A quarantine period of 14 days remains the safest option for close contacts of persons with confirmed or probable COVID-19.  Based on updated guidance from the CDC, the following option to shorten quarantine may be an acceptable alternative. AACS will work with the local health department on a case-by-case basis regarding this new guidance. 

• Quarantine can end after Day 10 if NO symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring during the entirety of quarantine; AND
• Daily symptom monitoring continues through Day 14; AND
• Persons are counseled regarding the need to adhere strictly to all recommended mitigation strategies including correct and consistent mask use, social distancing, and self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19 through Day 14; AND
• Persons are advised that if any symptoms develop, they should immediately self-isolate and contact their health care provider to determine if they need to be tested and how long they should be excluded from work or school.

For persons that are unable to comply with correct and consistent mask use including children under 5 years of age and persons with a disability or medical condition that makes wearing a face mask unsafe, a shorter quarantine option may NOT be used and these persons must quarantine for a full 14 days. Schools and local school systems should determine the best quarantine option for their population in consultation with the local health department.

Since students at AACS in kindergarten and first grade do not wear their masks at all times during the school day, they will be required to quarantine for 14 days when circumstances dictate the need for quarantine. There are several factors that go into every decision made to keep our community safe. AACS campus principals work closely with the AACDOH. Ultimately, the AACHOD makes the decision on quarantine length based on the information AACS is required to provide when a medically confirmed COVID+ case is reported by a person physically on one of our four campuses. 

When a student or staff person needs to quarantine due to being the close contact of a household member with laboratory confirmed or probable COVID-19, they should follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infection within the household. Persons who are able to have no further close contact with their household member who is a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 may return to work or school once they complete quarantine according to the guidance in question #1. If the person is not able to avoid any close contact with the household member with confirmed or probable COVID-19, the person must start their quarantine AFTER the household member is released from isolation. The person must undergo this additional time for quarantine because the person could have been infected on the final day of the household member’s isolation.

Any person who spends time in-person at AACS and tests positive for COVID-19 should inform the school as soon as possible to begin the contact tracing process. Positive COVID-19 virus lab results are reported to state and local health departments. Contact tracers will work with the local health department and the person with a positive test result to identify close contacts for quarantine notification purposes. AACS works with the contact tracing staff to identify close contacts in the school setting. 

The person with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 or COVID-19-like illness may return to work/school when s/he has met the CDC criteria for discontinuation of home isolation:

• At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset, AND
• At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever- reducing medications, AND
• Other symptoms have improved.

The above guidance is referred to as a symptom-based strategy for release from isolation. Testing to clear a person for return (i.e., a test-based strategy) is no longer recommended by the MDH for schools.

If the student, educator, or other school staff member with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 has never had any symptoms, he or she may return to work or school when at least 10 days have passed since the date of the person’s first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test.

Note: If the student, educator or other school staff member with COVID-19-like illness receives a negative PCR test result or has a specific alternative diagnosis, they may return to work or school once they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, their symptoms have improved, and the criteria in the Communicable Diseases Summary have been met as applicable. If there is a suspicion or concern that the negative test is not accurate, or symptoms are not improving, the person should work with their health care provider to determine if retesting or a longer period of isolation is required.