9-29-20
Governor Kim Reynolds held a press conference this morning in which a change to the protocol for quarantining students who have been exposed to COVID-19 while at school was announced. In addition, we received the following from Palo Alto Community Health this morning: Letter to Schools re: mask mandate and change in quarantine 9-29-2020
If both the person who is positive and the person who is exposed are wearing face masks, only the student who is positive would be required to quarantine.
The key component of this change is the wearing of masks. If the positive student or exposed student are not wearing masks, they would both be required to quarantine for fourteen days. We recognize that the quarantining of students who are not positive has put a burden on our families. In conjunction with the announcement from the Governor's Press Conference and the Letter to Schools from Palo Alto Community Health, Emmetsburg Community School District will make the following changes starting Wednesday September 30, 2020:
All students PK-12 will be required to wear masks while at school. We have met with the Staff at West and they believe that students PK-2 will be able to make the adjustment. This will give us the ability to not have to quarantine a whole class of students with a positive case. Please contact your Building Principal if you need assistance with getting a mask for your child. Those with medical conditions that prohibit the wearing of masks and provide a medical providers note, would be exempt.
The change in quarantine protocol does not include the use of Face Shields. The change in protocol only applies when both the positive students and the exposed student were wearing a face mask.
Wearing of masks will be required by all spectators at all athletic events. Those with medical conditions that prohibit the wearing of masks and provide a medical providers note, would be exempt.
ECSD believes that continued implementation of the current mitigation strategies in conjunction with the modifications listed above, allow us to achieve our COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies Goal of:
Do everything possible to keep our students and staff safe and healthy and in school
Do everything possible for our kids to continue to play and compete
Respectfully,
Darren D. Hanna
Superintendent
Emmetsburg Community School District: