Local schools can now decide quarantine regulations

May 13—Last week, West Michigan health officials relaxed quarantine rules for students as they enter the final weeks of the school year.

The announcement took effect May 5 after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services shifted authority to county-level officers on quarantine rules.

Ottawa County health officials will not enforce quarantines for students unless they are identified as a close contact of a household member who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Ottawa joins three other West Michigan counties — Kent, Muskegon and Ionia — in dropping countywide orders, although state guidelines are still recommended, with masks being required. Evidence in case trends, vaccine availability and vaccination rates were all taken into consideration, with more than half of Michigan residents having been fully vaccinated as of this week.

Spring Lake Public Schools Superintendent Dennis Furton gave a "thumbs up" to the recent news, saying it's a step in the right direction toward a healthier, brighter future for his students.

"We've seen very little transmission of COVID from student to student," Furton said. "If we were to quantify student contact tracing and identify them from the student and the school, based on positive cases, we would have very few of them ending up COVID. This seems like a reasonable change for schools whose priority is to educate children."

Although no statistical data has been tracked, Furton estimates that between a half-percent to 2 percent of Spring Lake students transmitted the virus from being in close contact with someone who had COVID-19. With Spring Lake High School's graduation ceremony slated for this coming Sunday, this assures seniors can wrap up their high school careers in-person.

"This is important for them," Furton said. "Our seniors have one week left of classes. It's a positive step and gives them confidence to be able to attend graduation."

Grand Haven High School's senior commencement is scheduled for May 27 and, according to the district's COVID-19 Dashboard, 113 cases have been reported in the last 28 days, with five coming within the past 24 hours. However, according to statistics released by the school district, only 1 percent of the more than 1,000 students who have been placed in quarantine this year due to COVID-19 contact tracing have gone on to test positive for the virus.