MOUNT VERNON – Knox Public Health has announced students can return to school after five days — as opposed to the previous 10 days — after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, following the updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Isolation can end if a student no longer has symptoms or their symptoms are improving, but the student must wear a mask around others for five additional days, or 10 days since the onset of symptoms/they received a positive test, deputy health commissioner Zach Green wrote to Knox Pages.
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.
If a student or staff member is identified as a close contact, they will follow the modified quarantine guidelines previously approved by KPH (attending school so long as they wear a mask indoors for ten days and remain asymptomatic).
KPH provided the shortened isolation guidance to schools Jan. 3, Green wrote.
“I assume they will continue to operate under the modified quarantine protocol and accept the updated isolation period; nevertheless, that will be determined by each school district separately,” Green wrote.
As of Jan. 4, Centerburg, Mount Vernon and Knox County Career Center specifically announced they would follow the updated guidelines.
These updated guidelines apply to students and community members alike, given the new federal guidance.
For students specifically, test-to-play procedures remain the same as earlier in the fall, Green wrote.
Test-to-play allows asymptomatic close contacts to participate in extracurriculars if they wear a mask, get tested for COVID-19 when they are initially notified of their exposure, and get tested again on days five to seven. If they test negative for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic, they can end their quarantine period on day eight.
The Ohio Children’s Hospital Association sent a letter to Ohio K-12 superintendents, administrators and school boards at the end of December asking them to require students wear masks when they return from the holiday break because of the Omicron variant and spike in positive cases.
All of Knox County’s school districts are maintaining the mask-optional policies they had in place before the break, as of Jan. 4. KPH’s mask guidance for schools has not changed since the start of the 2021-22 school year.
“Universal masking is still recommended by KPH,” Green wrote.
Knox County students return to school Jan. 3 to 5.
