NURSE NUGGETS

Dear Families and Students,

Wow! Spring Break is right around the corner! So needed for our families and students and staff to recharge and be ready for face to face, blended, or virtual learning. Hanshew is ready and classrooms are set up! Please review the safety plan on the ASD website for Hanshew.

When school returns, if your student needs to be absent from school for any reason, call in and give us the reason. If ill, the nurse will call you regarding symptoms and whether you should seek a COVID test before coming back to school. Be sure to check your child prior to them coming to school and if (s)he is not feeling well, please keep them home. Feel free to call me to talk about this if you have concerns.

If your child has had COVID, or been exposed to COVID please let the nurse know. If your chid has had COVID and is recovered, they are free from testing for 90 days. They also would not need to quarantine if exposed.

If your child experiences COVID symptoms, they will be asked to be tested and results of the COVID test shared with the nurse prior to coming back to school. There are many sites that offer free testing, and results are usually within 24 hours. If your student doesn’t get tested, they need to stay home for 10 days or have a note from their Health Care Provider that their symptoms are not COVID related.

The new travel guidelines are on the ASD website and shown below. The 5 days of social distancing is no longer required but a negative COVID test must be sent into the school before student/staff are allowed back in building. This follows the municipal code as well.

This policy applies to all ASD staff and students of all ages who return from travel outside of Alaska.

Travelers are required to submit negative SARS-CoV2 test results from a test taken no earlier than 72 hours of arrival into Alaska.

• Test must be molecular-based (PCR). No antigen or antibody test.

• Test can be taken upon arrival in Alaska or anytime thereafter.

• Test can be taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to arrival in Alaska.

• The traveler must maintain strict social distance from work/school until test results are available.

  • If the result is positive, the traveler must remain in self-isolation and must not return to work/school until cleared by a Municipality or State Healthcare Provider (i.e. Public Health Nurse, Contact Tracer, Pediatrician, or Family Physician, etc.).

  • If the result is negative, the traveler may return to work/school as long as they are asymptomatic.

• Submit the negative result to your school nurse (student) or supervisor (employee).

If traveler chooses not to get SARS-CoV2 test:

• The traveler must maintain strict social distance for 10 days from arrival in Alaska.

• The traveler may return to work/school on Day 11, if asymptomatic.

Travel outside of Alaska for less than 72 hours:

• No test requirement if currently asymptomatic.

Prior confirmed positive SARS-CoV2 result within 90 days of departure: (All Travelers)

• The traveler does not need a SARS-CoV2 test or to maintain social distance if the three following conditions are met:

  1. The traveler provides proof of a previously positive result of a molecular based test for SARS-CoV2 within 90 days of travel;

  2. The traveler is currently asymptomatic;

  3. The traveler submits the positive result with the date to your school nurse (student) or supervisor (employee).

Fully-Vaccinated individuals:

• Fully-vaccinated travelers will need to follow the above travel testing protocols.

• Fully-vaccinated is defined as two weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.

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Lets stay healthy, wear mask, wash hands, socially distant and KEEP ASD SYMPTOM FREE!

Enjoy your spring break!

Kathy Seybert MS RN NSCN

742-9913 or seybert_kathy@asdk12.org