Testing, new rules as schools look to reopen in COVID-19 surge
January 1, 2022 | By Lisa ScagliottiAhead of school returning to session after the holiday break, local school officials have alerted families to updated steps to take regarding COVID-19 testing, quarantine, etc. after state guidelines were revised this past week.
The messaging is important as community spread of the virus has markedly increased since the holiday vacation began. The Vermont Department of Health reported a new record 1,352 daily COVID-19 cases on Dec. 30 which surpassed the previous daily record of 937 cases reported Dec. 29. Daily case counts earlier in the month were mostly under 500.
Locally, cases are on the rise as well with 130 new cases in Waterbury reported by the Health Department for the week ending Dec. 29. That was the highest number of new cases in one week of the entire pandemic; the previous high was 41 cases for the week ending Dec. 22.
School officials said what they have been hearing from families during the break mirrors the headlines.
“We have had 44 reported cases in HUUSD staff and students since December 21, following a trend of increased cases seen around our state,” Principal Kaiya Korb and School Nurse Allison Conyers said in their letter to families emailed on Friday.
Korb, who leads Waitsfield Elementary School, and Conyers, nurse at Brookside Primary School, are the COVID-19 response coordinators for the Harwood Unified Union School District.
The cases mentioned have been identified over the break as staff and families have shared information with their school administrators. The last day of school in December was Dec. 22 for all but Brookside which closed a day early due to insufficient staff to open school on the 22nd. At that point, the school district had logged 65 COVID-19 cases since the school year began in late August, 36 of those were reported in December. The school district’s case count covers only those instances where a student or staff member was contagious while at school.
Last week, federal guidelines around isolating after testing positive and quarantine after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 were revised. Vermont state public health officials released new guidance on steps to follow in both of those situations.
School officials are asking families to review those new measures which will be followed for school students when classes in person resume on Monday.
Isolation guidelines mainly now call for a five-day period away from others with recommendations for testing before resuming activities. Quarantine guidelines vary based on vaccination status, particularly whether an individual has received a booster shot.
The school memo urges parents to have students age 16 and older to get a booster and for those age 5 and up to get vaccinated. Boosters so far are approved for ages 16 and older, however news reports last week suggested that the Pfizer vaccine booster should soon get approval for ages 12 and up.
This weekend, families are asked to test students using rapid antigen tests distributed Thursday and Friday by the state. The take-home kits containing two tests offer quick results. Students who test negative with both tests may return to school on Monday. Families are also asked to report their test results using an online form with the Vermont Department of Health.
Once school reopens, weekly voluntary surveillance testing will continue, school officials said. They said they hope to continue the Test to Stay effort as well, but that will depend on the demand for it and the capacity of school staff to conduct the needed tests.
“Our Close Contact Test to Stay is slated to continue for those who are unvaccinated and have been identified as a close contact in the school setting only,” the memo states. “We await the implications of the transmissibility of the omicron variant and the new [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and [Vermont Department of Health] guidance around quarantine for close contacts on our Test to Stay program. Additionally, given rising case counts, it is not clear if we will have capacity to operate the Test to Stay program.”
The school memo was emailed to all parents and guardians and staff and is posted on the district's website home page, HUUSD.org. It contains links and details regarding guidance for isolation and quarantine as well as where to get vaccines and testing. Also, see below.
