PCCS : P-CCS Updated COVID-19 Quarantine Guidelines (January 14, 2022)

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools:

01/14/2022 6:37 PM

P-CCS Students, Staff, and Families:

We want to provide you with the latest updates in terms of how recent recommendations from the national, state, and local levels will affect the district’s COVID-19 Mitigation Plan. This past Monday (January 10), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updated its guidance for quarantine and isolation in K-12 school settings to reflect more closely with the updates made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health officials have stated that, when layered mitigation strategies are implemented in school settings, secondary transmission of COVID-19 is greatly reduced.

The Wayne County Health Department (WCHD), which we have consistently aligned with throughout this pandemic, has updated their guidance as well. We will begin implementation of the updated guidelines on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. 

Isolation Process for Positive Cases:

• Student and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 and/or display symptoms suggestive of COVID, regardless of vaccination status, must:

• Monitor for symptoms for days 0-10; AND

• Isolate at home for days 0-5 (day “0” is the day symptoms begin or day test was taken for those without symptoms); AND

WCHD Close Contact at School -- Mask to Stay:

• In accordance with the WCHD Guidance, if a COVID exposure occurs in the school setting, school personnel will no longer complete individual close contact tracing. Students and staff exposed at school will not be required to quarantine, but must wear a well-fitted mask while in school and at school-related events. This includes in-school contacts, including classrooms, buses, lunch and most extra-curricular activities. School personnel will continue to utilize contact tracing measures in high-risk areas, as identified by the WCHD, where masking and distancing may be less achievable. 

• When there is a COVID exposure in the school setting, P-CCS will continue sending a general notification letter to each school community instructing individuals that they should closely monitor for COVID symptoms for 10 days.

• P-CCS will continue managing daily positive and probable COVID cases for both staff and students, and report all school associated cases to our transparency report located on the official district website found at www.pccsk12.com.

Quarantine Process for Close Contacts Identified Outside of School:

• If a COVID-19 exposure occurred away from school, those students and staff who are unvaccinated and have not tested positive for COVID within the past 90 days, may have the options below:

  • Home quarantine for days 1-5, monitor for symptoms, test on day five, provide proof of negative test, return to school on day six, and “Mask to Stay” for days 6-10

  • OR

  • Home quarantine for days 1-10 

For all Students and Staff Currently on a 10-day Isolation with Positive Test:

• Isolate at home for a minimum of five full days (day zero is day symptoms began or day test was taken).

• Return on day six if asymptomatic, if symptoms have significantly improved, or if fever free for 24 hours without medication.

• If symptoms have not improved by day six, quarantine for a total of 10 days.

*All students and staff currently quarantined as a result of being a close contact to a positive case, and are asymptomatic, are eligible to return according to the updated quarantine guidelines.

Please see this convenient visual (PDF) for a representation of these new guidelines for P-CCS.

As we work to implement these modified guidelines, staff and families must adhere to daily screening protocols before coming to school, and they are encouraged to test immediately when exhibiting signs of COVID-19. We continue to ask all students and staff to be diligent about not attending school or work if you are not feeling well, and to continue to watch for symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath or other COVID-19 symptoms. All additional layered prevention strategies including proper masking, distancing, hand washing, ventilation, etc, will continue to be enforced. 

In addition to these layers mitigation plans, we will also take advantage of programs to receive tests from MDHHS and have the ability to test regularly. P-CCS has requested testing kits, but has not received a supply from the state at this time.

We also will participate in the MI Backpack Program, which offers free at-home testing kits for  students, staff and their families. P-CCS requested to participate in the MI Backpack Program last week and we have put in an order for the at-home test kits for all students and staff. A portion of these tests has arrived and we are working on a process to distribute the tests promptly and equitably.

We will also encourage and continue to partner with the WCHD on hosting vaccination clinics for the entire P-CCS Community, with the next clinic scheduled for Monday, January 24 at 3:30 p.m. in the Canton HS Little Theatre. 

It must be the collective effort of all to keep our school buildings open safely for in-person learning, and the safety and well being of our students remains the number one priority at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

Have a safe and healthy weekend!

Monica L. Merritt
P-CCS Superintendent of Schools

P-CCS Students, Staff, and Families:

We want to provide you with the latest updates in terms of how recent recommendations from the national, state, and local levels will affect the district’s COVID-19 Mitigation Plan. This past Monday (January 10), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updated its guidance for quarantine and isolation in K-12 school settings to reflect more closely with the updates made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health officials have stated that, when layered mitigation strategies are implemented in school settings, secondary transmission of COVID-19 is greatly reduced.

The Wayne County Health Department (WCHD), which we have consistently aligned with throughout this pandemic, has updated their guidance as well. We will begin implementation of the updated guidelines on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. 

Isolation Process for Positive Cases:

• Student and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 and/or display symptoms suggestive of COVID, regardless of vaccination status, must:

  • Monitor for symptoms for days 0-10; AND

WCHD Close Contact at School -- Mask to Stay:

• In accordance with the WCHD Guidance, if a COVID exposure occurs in the school setting, school personnel will no longer complete individual close contact tracing. Students and staff exposed at school will not be required to quarantine, but must wear a well-fitted mask while in school and at school-related events. This includes in-school contacts, including classrooms, buses, lunch and most extra-curricular activities. School personnel will continue to utilize contact tracing measures in high-risk areas, as identified by the WCHD, where masking and distancing may be less achievable. 

• When there is a COVID exposure in the school setting, P-CCS will continue sending a general notification letter to each school community instructing individuals that they should closely monitor for COVID symptoms for 10 days.

Quarantine Process for Close Contacts Identified Outside of School:

• If a COVID-19 exposure occurred away from school, those students and staff who are unvaccinated and have not tested positive for COVID within the past 90 days, may have the options below:

  • Home quarantine for days 1-5, monitor for symptoms, test on day five, provide proof of negative test, return to school on day six, and “Mask to Stay” for days 6-10

  • OR

For all Students and Staff Currently on a 10-day Isolation with Positive Test:

• Isolate at home for a minimum of five full days (day zero is day symptoms began or day test was taken).

• Return on day six if asymptomatic, if symptoms have significantly improved, or if fever free for 24 hours without medication.

*All students and staff currently quarantined as a result of being a close contact to a positive case, and are asymptomatic, are eligible to return according to the updated quarantine guidelines.

Please see this convenient visual (PDF) for a representation of these new guidelines for P-CCS.

As we work to implement these modified guidelines, staff and families must adhere to daily screening protocols before coming to school, and they are encouraged to test immediately when exhibiting signs of COVID-19. We continue to ask all students and staff to be diligent about not attending school or work if you are not feeling well, and to continue to watch for symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath or other COVID-19 symptoms. All additional layered prevention strategies including proper masking, distancing, hand washing, ventilation, etc, will continue to be enforced. 

In addition to these layers mitigation plans, we will also take advantage of programs to receive tests from MDHHS and have the ability to test regularly. P-CCS has requested testing kits, but has not received a supply from the state at this time.

We also will participate in the MI Backpack Program, which offers free at-home testing kits for  students, staff and their families. P-CCS requested to participate in the MI Backpack Program last week and we have put in an order for the at-home test kits for all students and staff. A portion of these tests has arrived and we are working on a process to distribute the tests promptly and equitably.

We will also encourage and continue to partner with the WCHD on hosting vaccination clinics for the entire P-CCS Community, with the next clinic scheduled for Monday, January 24 at 3:30 p.m. in the Canton HS Little Theatre. 

It must be the collective effort of all to keep our school buildings open safely for in-person learning, and the safety and well being of our students remains the number one priority at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

Have a safe and healthy weekend!

Monica L. Merritt
P-CCS Superintendent of Schools

This press release was produced by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.