When a student is identified as a close contact, the family is notified by the school nurse, health assistant or designated staff member that the student must begin the quarantine process. When a full classroom must quarantine, an additional email is sent to parents/guardians of the impacted students with additional information on receiving expanding supports during the quarantine period.
A student is identified as having to quarantine if they test positive for COVID-19, or if they are unvaccinated and deemed to be a close contact, as defined by the CDC.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes).
Update: March 2, 2022
HCPSS has continually made adjustments to its contact tracing process to ensure we are meeting legal requirements to provide accurate and timely data to the health department while supporting our students and staff who test positive.
The most up-to-date information can be found online.
See also I Was Identified as a Close Contact
Yes, student interns from universities and work study students must provide proof of vaccination status or a negative COVID-19 test (within seven days of the current date) to school administration.
The Maryland Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard shows the total number of outbreak-associated cases in schools.
The HCPSS COVID-19 Dashboard shows two sets of information:
When a bus has a double run, they pick up and drop off students on one route, then turn around and pick up and drop off students on a different route. There are two different routes so a student must only board a bus at their assigned time and stop to ensure they are safely transported to the correct location. Double runs will continue to be evaluated and eliminated as more drivers are hired.
Update: Dec. 17, 2021
There are instances in elementary schools where students eat breakfast in their classroom and are not wearing masks. If a student tests positive for COVID, contact tracers will reach out to the student and their family to identify others who may be identified as a close contact. Contact tracers also may reach out to the teacher or other staff member if they are not able to accurately identify close contacts from the student and family.
