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MOUNT VERNON — Students identified as close contacts are ordered, not recommended, into quarantine by Knox Public Health for up to 14 days.
Ohio Revised Code 3707.08 provides legal authority for local health departments to issue quarantine orders, and ORC 3707.16 states quarantined people are not permitted to attend public gatherings, with a specific mention of schools.
A close contact is someone not vaccinated, not wearing a mask and has been within six-feet for 15 minutes or longer over a 24-hour period of someone who has a confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus.
Students can return to school and other public gatherings before 14 days if the student remains asymptomatic for 10 days, or an asymptomatic students takes a COVID-19 test after five days in quarantine, tests negative and remains asymptomatic through day seven in quarantine, according to Knox Public Health.
A rapid, at-home antigen test is adequate in the above case, said Zach Green, deputy health commissioner at Knox Public Health. Students do not need to take a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test, Green said.
Isolation and quarantine are not the same
People in isolation have confirmed cases of COVID-19, while quarantine is for people who have been exposed to someone infected with COVID-19, often referred to as close contacts.
Someone who tests positive for COVID-19 is ordered into isolation for 10 days, beginning from the onset of symptoms or 10 days from their test date if the person is asymptomatic.
Unlike the aforementioned quarantined cases, testing out of the 10-day isolation period for confirmed COVID-19 cases is not an option.
Local health departments have the authority to issue isolation orders also under Ohio Revised Code, specifically ORC 3707.11.
Identification of close contacts and confirmed cases is a collaborative effort, Green said.
“It depends where the case lands,” Green said. “The vast majority of the time, the school knows about it before it even hits our desk, and that’s why it’s imperative to get those individuals that were potentially exposed addressed in a prompt manner.”
School districts are required to report positive COVID-19 cases to KPH and to report positive cases to parents and guardians, per a state order.
The order, issued Sept. 3, 2020, requires kindergarten through 12th grade to report to the aforementioned entities within 24 hours of the school becoming aware of the positive case.
KPH has not passed any resolutions in addition to the aforementioned order, Green said. Based on the order, it’s unclear if schools are required to inform KPH or parents and guardians of students who are close contacts to those who test positive.
Requests to waive quarantine
In recent school board meetings across Knox County, school leaders and parents have questioned whether quarantine rules can be altered.
On Monday, for example, Centerburg Supt. Mike Hebenthal said during the district’s board meeting he has tried to request a change to quarantine procedures to keep students in continuous in-person learning by allowing students identified as close contacts to remain in school if they wear a mask.
Currently the local health department does not have the authority to allow students to waive the quarantine period if they wear masks because COVID-19 is deemed a Class A communicable disease, Green said.
However, Green and KPH Commissioner Julie Miller told Knox Pages of their plans to contact legislators, Gov. Mike DeWine and director of the Ohio Department of Health Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff on Thursday to request greater local control.
“We, Knox Public Health, are urging our legislators to truly look at allowing asymptomatic students that have been exposed back into the classroom as long as they remain symptom free and as long as they’re wearing facial coverings during their quarantine period,” Green said.
Green said he thinks legislators should grant more authority for decisions to be made at the local level regarding student quarantines to keep students in continuous in-person instruction and to help alleviate strains to student mental health from absences due to quarantine.
“I’m not saying that the value of ‘ok, they’ve been exposed. Let’s put them back in school.’ is great,” Green said. “That is highly concerning. But we do know kids need to be in school.”
