Health and Safety

Health and Safety Information

The health and safety of our students and staff is our primary focus. We will rely on the guidance provided by the CDC and our local Health Department to make sure students and staff are safe when entering school buildings.

These include:

Collaboration with Health Department

SMCPS will coordinate its response with the local Health Department. Exclusion, quarantine and return to school for a person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or persons with symptoms of COVID-19 like illness is based on CDC and Maryland Department of Health/Maryland State Department of Education guidance and is to be implemented by local school systems in collaboration with the local health Department.

Guidance for Use of Cloth Face Coverings in Schools

July 21, 2020

This guidance is being provided by the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to assist schools to develop and implement policy regarding the use of cloth face coverings in the school setting. The use of cloth face coverings is not a substitute for other SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies such as physical distancing, frequent hand washing, and cleaning of frequently touched surfaces within the school setting.

Cloth face coverings protect others if the wearer is infected with SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and is not aware. Cloth face coverings may offer some level of protection for the wearer. Evidence continues to mount on the importance of universal face coverings in interrupting the spread of SARS-CoV-2. To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the CDC recommends the use of cloth face coverings in schools when feasible.

Use of Cloth Face Coverings in Staff and Students

MDH/MSDE requires the following:

School staff must wear cloth face coverings while in the school building, on school grounds when not contraindicated due to a medical condition, intellectual or developmental disabilities, or other conditions or safety concerns;

• All students, school staff, and bus drivers must wear a cloth face covering while on school bus when not contraindicated due to a medical condition or developmental or safety considerations;

• Other adults must wear cloth face coverings when they must enter the school building or grounds for essential functions;

• Students, especially students in middle and high school, must wear cloth face coverings in the school building and on school grounds as much as possible when not contraindicated due to a medical condition or developmental or safety considerations;

• The use of cloth face coverings is most important at times when physical distancing measures cannot be effectively implemented especially when indoors;

• Local education agencies should examine the structure and schedule of the education program to identify when physical distancing may be a challenge;

• Cloth face coverings should not be worn by children under 2 years and anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance.

Communication

• School systems should provide resources to families regarding the importance and expectation for the use of cloth face covering in school;

• Information should be provided to staff, students and students’ families regarding the school system expectation of parents to provide cloth face covering or whether the school will provide them;

• School staff and families should teach and reinforce proper use and removal of cloth face coverings, including the use of behavioral strategies as necessary to assist students with becoming comfortable wearing cloth face coverings; and

• Information should be provided to staff, students, and students’ families on proper use, removal, and washing of cloth face coverings.

COVID-19 Response

Response to a Laboratory Confirmed Case of COVID-19 and Persons with COVID-19-like Illness in Schools, Child Care Programs, and Youth Camps

Updated July 21, 2020

This guidance accompanies the “Decision Aid: Exclusion and Return for Laboratory Confirmed COVID-19 Cases and Persons with COVID-19-like Illness in Schools, Child Care Programs, and Youth Camps.”

This guidance applies to persons with a laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19, regardless of whether they have symptoms, and persons with COVID-19-like illness. Exclusion, quarantine and return to school for a person with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 or persons with symptoms of COVID-19-like illness is based on CDC and Maryland Department of Health/Maryland State Department of Education guidance and is to be implemented by local school systems in collaboration with the local health department. For the purposes of this guidance, symptoms of COVID-19-like illness include those that meet:

1. New onset cough or shortness of breath; OR

2. At least 2 of the following: fever of 100.4o or higher, chills, shivering, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, loss of sense of taste or smell, or gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting or diarrhea).

NOTE: This definition was adapted from the clinical criteria in the CDC case definition of a probable case of COVID-19.

The guidance below is meant to supplement, where necessary, current communicable disease outbreak investigation processes, current school health services illness management processes, and current local health department COVID-19 response processes. The guidance below is designed to expedite notification, isolation, and quarantine of school staff and/or students, as indicated, when a person notifies the school they/their child has a laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19, regardless of whether the person has symptoms, or exhibits symptoms of COVID-19- like illness. The specific processes to implement this guidance within each school system are to be developed and carried out as a collaboration between the local school system and the local health department.

Communication

• • School systems should develop processes to inform staff and parents that they are expected to notify the school as soon as they are made aware that they/their child has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 or that they/their child has been exposed to a person who is confirmed to have COVID-19;

  • School systems should communicate to parents the expectation that ill students MUST be picked up within a specified period of time;

  • The school should have a plan for how parents are to notify the school of a positive test result or exposure to ensure confidentiality;

  • Schools should have a plan to collaborate and coordinate with the local health department regarding school contact tracing procedures including determining the role of the school nurse, the school administrator, and the local health department; and

  • The school system should develop communication templates for notification of contacts of persons who are confirmed to have COVID-19.

Notification of contacts who must quarantine

• • The local health department should lead the process of contact tracing;

  • The school should work with the local health department to identify persons who may have had close contact with the person testing positive for COVID-19;

  • Schools should provide written notification to all identified contacts. The notification should include the following:

    • When to seek medical care

    • How to monitor for symptoms

    • Who to contact and how to contact them if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 while under quarantine

    • The projected length of quarantine if remain asymptomatic

    • Plan for maintaining remote learning for those who remain well enough to engage in learning while under quarantine

    • Information about local COVID-19 testing sites

Isolation, Exclusion, Quarantine, and Return to School

• • If a student or school staff member develops symptoms of COVID-19-like illness during the school day, the school should:

    • Safely isolate the person in the designated isolation area and place a surgical mask on the person if they are not wearing a cloth face covering as appropriate;

    • The SHS staff member should don the appropriate PPE and conduct the appropriate determination of the student’s condition based on presenting symptoms;

    • Begin the process for the person to vacate the school as soon as possible;

  • When a school is informed of a laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19 in a student or school staff member, regardless of whether the person had symptoms, the school should begin the process for identifying close contacts and begin the notification process in collaboration with the local health department;

  • The school should follow the “Decision Aid: Exclusion and Return for Laboratory Confirmed COVID-19 Cases and Persons with COVID-19-like Illness in Schools, Child Care Programs, and Youth Camps” (see attachment) for persons with a positive test for COVID-19 or have COVID-19 like illness, regardless if they have been tested, and those who had close contact with the person with COVID-19-like illness;

  • The school should follow the instructions from the local health department for all matters regarding quarantine, exclusion and return to school for persons with a positive test for COVID-19 and those who had close contact with the with COVID-like illness; and

  • If the number of laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 or persons with Covid-19- like illness meets the definition of an outbreak, the response decisions, including possible school closure, will be made by the local health department.