Aberdeen School District to have more relaxed COVID-19 protocols after new CDC guidelines

COVID-19 protocols will be more relaxed this year, the Aberdeen School Board learned during Monday's regular meeting.

A back-to-school COVID-19 plan had to be put together with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds issued in response to the pandemic.

Superintendent Becky Guffin said the district will follow new CDC guidelines for schools that were issued earlier this month. Students who have been exposed to COVID-19 no longer need to quarantine as long as they remain symptom-free, she said.

If a student or staff member tests positive, they are required to quarantine for 5 days. If their symptoms subside after 5 days, they can return to class but wear a mask around other for the next 5 days, per CDC guidelines.

The CDC also removed the recommendation for students to stay 6 feet apart from one another. While the district tried to implement social distancing as much as possible, Guffin said, it was difficult to maintain and has now been removed from the school's COVID-19 plan.

The school district will also no longer be contact tracing as the CDC no longer recommends that for schools, she said.

The schools will continue to have handwashing and sanitizer stations as well as air circulation, said Guffin.

"I don't see that ever going away. And I think those are just good practices that we became more accustomed to," she said.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: New COVID-19 protocols in place for Aberdeen School District