Brookline Public School Halt Covid Contact Tracing Amidst Surge
BROOKLINE, MA — The Public Schools of Brookline announced last week that they have paused contact tracing for the next few weeks due to the current COVID-19 case surge.
Instead of contact tracing, the district will notify a classroom or grade that there was a positive case in the classroom and advise families and staff to actively monitor for symptoms, and to stay home if symptoms develop.
“Due to the intensely rising demands on our health office during this surge, school nurses will not be able to conduct contact tracing on all cases," said Coordinator of School Health Services Tricia Laham in a letter to the school community. During the surge, we will prioritize contact tracing in our unvaccinated or partially vaccinated grades, completing contact tracing to the extent feasible.”
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) updated guidance allows schools to recognize at-home rapid antigen tests. Local Boards of Health are not required to contact trace on non-PCR confirmed cases.
DESE has also stated that, in order to further assist with contact tracing, COVID-19 positive students, family, and staff should reach out to their personal contacts and notify the school.
Test and Stay will continue for those eligible, only if we have a signed consent on file. To sign up, click here. Student without signed consent will be sent home to complete their five days of quarantine.
To view PSB’s updated COVID-19 protocols, click here.
This article originally appeared on the Brookline Patch
