Do you want your children to avoid missing school due to being quarantined after exposure to someone with Covid-19? Read below to find out how a Covid-related absence can be avoided.
At present, any students or staff who are discovered to have close contact with someone with Covid-19 are required to be quarantined, or isolated, for a period of time. Generally, “close contact” means you were within 6 feet of the person for at least 15 minutes while they were infectious. According to the Center for Disease Control, the safest quarantine period would last 14 days from the most recent exposure to the positive patient. However, quarantine can end after 10 days without testing if no symptoms have occurred; or after 7 days if no symptoms have occurred and a test returned a negative result.
In other words, any student who is exposed to Covid-19 will likely miss at least an entire week of school, likely more.
However, it is possible to avoid these absences and the learning loss that comes with them. There are three ways students can avoid being quarantined after a close contact exposure:
1. Being fully vaccinated
This option is available to students age 12 and up. Vaccination remains the leading public health prevention strategy to end the Covid-19 pandemic and protect yourself, your friends, and your family from infection.
Vaccines are available locally at several sites, including the Marion Family Pharmacy, Walmart, Kroger, Walgreens, East Arkansas Family Health Canter, and the Arkansas Department of Health. Additionally, the Marion School District will hold a community vaccine clinic on Wednesday, August 4, from 1-6 p.m. at Patriot Arena. Future vaccine clinics are also being planned.
2. Proper masking of the infected person and the exposed individual(s).
The CDC is now recommending that all individuals wear a mask indoors in public if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission. Crittenden County is an area of high transmission. This recommendation is for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status.
Though there is no mask mandate at this time (Thursday, July 29) in the Marion School District, those who do so voluntarily can avoid quarantine following exposure to Covid-19.
3. Diagnosed with a past Covid-19 infection within the last 90 days
At the Marion School District, we are committed to doing everything allowable under state law to ensure our students’ safety and wellness are protected. We continue to strongly encourage all eligible individuals to get vaccinated, to wear facemasks while indoors, and to practice physical distancing whenever possible.
We also want to protect against the potential learning loss that will come with prolonged and repeated quarantine. For that reason, we urge everyone in our Patriot community to follow the guidance above to stay in school, stay safe, and protect each other.
To see our school district’s complete Covid-19 safety guidelines for the 2021-22 school year, click here.