COLUMBUS – Ohio is adjusting its quarantine recommendations for schools in hopes of keeping students in class more even if they’re exposed to someone who has the coronavirus.
The optional guidance announced Monday – dubbed “mask to stay” and “test to play” — applies only when direct exposure to a positive case happens in a school environment.
Under those approaches, exposed students who were unmasked and unvaccinated could still participate in class and extracurricular activities if they follow certain guidelines for mask-wearing and getting tested.
Mask To Stay
After direct contacts in a school environment, regardless of vaccination or masking status, students may stay in school if they:
- Wear a mask for 14 days after their last date of exposure.
- Self-monitor, or parent-monitor, for symptoms of COVID-19.
- Isolate and get tested if they start to experience symptoms
Students and staff may discontinue quarantine procedures after seven days as long as they don’t develop symptoms and test negative between days 5-7.
Test to Play
Asymptomatic contacts in a school environment may participate in extracurricular activities if they:
- Wear a mask when able. This includes on a team bus, in locker rooms, on the sidelines, and any time the mask will not interfere with breathing or the activity.
- Test on initial notification of exposure to COVID-19.
- Test again between days 5-7 following exposure to COVID-19 and, if they test negative they can resume normal activities after Day 7.
-Source: Ohio Dept. of Health
Ohio’s health director says the low number of cases from direct contacts in school settings helped inform the new guidance.
“The…options are informed by a growing body of national experience, as well as from a pilot in Warren County, and experience shared by other local health departments pointing toward a low number of direct contacts that convert to cases within school settings,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said.
Quarantining had the unintended consequence of reducing in-school learning and can place an added strain on parents, schools, and local health departments, Vanderhoff said.