MCCSC shortens quarantine time for COVID-19 exposures despite surging cases

Christine Stephenson, The Herald-Times
·5 min read

A relaxation of the Monroe County Community School Corp. COVID-19 protocol will allow students to stay in school or return to school sooner after exposure or infection.

School board members voted Tuesday to shorten quarantine length in certain situations and allow students to return to school the next day if they are sent home for showing only one symptom, among other changes. Upon approval, a letter outlining the new protocol was sent to parents and can also be found on the MCCSC website.

These changes were approved despite a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases in schools. This week, 16,337 new student cases were reported in Indiana, according to the state COVID-19 dashboard.

Superintendent Jeff Hauswald said the new protocol is meant to keep schools open to in-person instruction and maximize the time students can attend in-person classes. Some procedures, such as prioritizing high-risk students for contract tracing, were also adjusted to adapt to staff shortages.

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“Due to the number of cases and staffing limits, maintaining our current procedures has become impossible,” he said.

The new protocol was discussed and approved by the CMAC, or COVID Monitoring and Advisory Committee, before it was brought to the school board. The committee consists of local school officials, teachers, doctors, health officials, medical experts and one school board member, Hauswald said.

The new protocol is:

  • If a student tests positive and is asymptomatic or does not have a fever for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication with other symptoms improving, they may return on day 6 with a negative lab antigen test performed on day 5. The first day of symptoms or a positive test is considered day 0.

  • If a student tests positive and is still symptomatic on day five or cannot obtain a test, they may return on day 11.

  • If a student is identified as a close contact and is unvaccinated and asymptomatic, they may return on day 6 from last exposure with a negative test performed on day 5 if they can follow enhanced precautions, such as sitting 6 feet away from other students at lunch, through day 14. A lab antigen test is preferred, but a home test will also be accepted. The list of enhanced precautions can be found on the MCCSC website.

  • If a student is identified as a close contact and is unvaccinated and asymptomatic but cannot provide a negative test, they may return on day 11 if they can follow enhanced precautions through day 14.

  • If a student is identified as a close contact and is unvaccinated and asymptomatic but cannot provide a negative test and cannot follow enhanced precautions through day 14, they may return on day 15.

  • If a student is sent home for experiencing a single symptom of COVID-19 besides a loss of taste and smell, they may return the next day or whenever symptoms improve without a COVID-19 test.

  • If a student is sent home for experiencing a loss of taste or smell, they may return after providing a negative antigen or PCR test result.

  • If a student is sent home for experiencing more than one symptom of COVID-19, they may return whenever symptoms improve and they can provide negative antigen or PCR test result.

  • All students who return to school after quarantine may participate in extracurricular activities with a mask through day 14, and cardiac clearance is also required by the IHSAA to return to sports after COVID-19 isolation.

Additionally, MCCSC will stop updating the COVID-19 dashboard on its website, which provides more specific data about each school than the statewide COVID-19 dashboard. An MCCSC release sent to parents explained the district is unable to accurately report the data at this point.

Board member April Hennessey was the lone dissenter, expressing concern the guidelines may be too loose in some areas and parents need to be informed about district COVID-19 data.

Hennessey said, for example, some students will now be able to return on day 6 with only a negative home test result. This is despite reports that home tests may provide false negatives, especially with the omicron variant.

“This is sort of a problematic lessening of those barriers,” she said. “And if we are going to lessen the requirements for quarantining or isolation, if we are going to lessen the requirements of the kinds of tests we accept, then I absolutely think we should then at least be giving (parents) school or district data in order for them to make informed decisions about when and how they send their kids to school.”

More: How to get, administer an at-home COVID test; where to get free N95 masks in Bloomington

Board member Erin Cooperman said although the new protocol will lessen mitigation measures, she believes it will ultimately benefit academics and the mental and emotional health of students.

“For me, the benefits of this policy still outweigh the risk,” she said.

MCCSC will continue to contact trace despite the state no longer requiring it. Students, staff and visitors will still be required to wear a mask and are encouraged to wear surgical or N95 or KN95 masks.

Board OKs teachers union agreement

The board also approved a collective bargaining agreement with the support staff who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3995 for the 2022 and 2023 calendar years. Effective Jan 1. 2022, the minimum hourly wage is increased to $13.75, and all others will receive a minimum increase of 3.5% over two years, Andrea Mobley, assistant superintendent for HR and operations, said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: MCCSC COVID-19 protocol relaxed despite rise in Indiana cases