Updates approved for Warren County Public Schools’ pandemic mitigation plan

The Warren County School Board recently approved the COVID-19 Mitigation Health Plan updates for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS).

The mitigation plan, entitled “2021-2022 Leading the Rebound,” has been fluid because the COVID-19 “situation has been very fluid,” meaning that updates to the plan have been made as the pandemic has progressed, WCPS Director of Special Services Michael Hirsch told the board during its Wednesday, Feb. 2 regular meeting.

The biggest, most-recent change to note is that parents now may get COVID-19 tests from WCPS school nurses by requesting them from either the nurse or school administrator, Hirsch said.

Additionally, per updated guidance issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), WCPS also updated the definitions for ‘quarantine’ and ‘isolation.’ For instance, if a person tests positive for COVID-19, then he or she must quarantine for five days. The previous requirement was to be quarantined for 10 days.

Hirsch said that WCPS currently is following and will follow any related executive orders issued by Virginia’s governors. Gatherings, field trips, and other activities also will follow this guidance.

According to the updated WCPS mitigation plan, the following WCPS guidelines will be used for isolation and quarantine.

1.) If you test positive for COVID-19, then everyone:

● regardless of vaccination status— must isolate

● Stay home for 5 days

● If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you may return to school or work

● Upon your return, continue to wear a face-covering for five calendar days

● If symptoms are still present and/or you have not been fever-free for 24 hours, continue to stay home until you have been fever-free for 24 hours.

2.) If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 and you have received a booster shot or completed the primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months or completed the primary series of the J&J vaccine within the last 2 months or have tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days:

● You do not need to quarantine

● You must wear a face-covering for 10 days

● Test on day 5, if possible

● If you develop symptoms, then get tested; stay home if your test is positive, and then move to the isolation stage, according to the plan updates.

3.) If you completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and have not received a booster shot or completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and have not received a booster shot or are unvaccinated:

● Stay home for 5 days. Upon your return, wear a face covering for 5 calendar days

● If you cannot quarantine, approval to return to school or work must be approved through WCPS Special Services, and wear a face-covering for 10 calendar days

● Test on day 5, if possible

● If you develop symptoms, then get tested; stay home; and if your test is positive, then move to the isolation stage, the plan says.

The full mitigation health plan is available online here.

WCPS Director of Special Services Michael Hirsch says that these mitigation plan updates reflect the current guidance from the CDC and the Virginia health department.

Regarding the wearing of masks, Hirsch said that parents must fill out either an online form or just write a note that gets sent to the school saying they opt-out their child from wearing a face mask in school. No reason has to be given in the note.

Mask opt-outs also may be made by calling a school administrator, who will document a parent’s mask opt-out during the phone call.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for our parents to communicate with us,” said Hirsch.

With School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice-Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and board members Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, and Melanie Salins present at the February 2 meeting, they voted unanimously to accept the WCPS COVID-19 mitigation health plan updates made on January 19.

The School Board’s next meeting is a work session scheduled for Wednesday, February 16 at 5 p.m.

Watch the Warren County School Board’s February 2 meeting in its entirety.

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